


Steven's Adventures with the Homeworld Gems

by Golden_chalk



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Angst, Crystal Gems, Diamond Authority - Freeform, Evil Crystal gems, Gen, Homeworld (Steven Universe), Homeworld Gems - Freeform, Mentioned Rose Quartz (Steven Universe), Momswap, Role Reversal, Rose Quartz is Pink Diamond Theory, Steven Universe AU, Steven Universe is Pink Diamond, crystal swap, mom swap, mom swapped, momswapped, self doubt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:47:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 24,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23491153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Golden_chalk/pseuds/Golden_chalk
Summary: In an Alternate universe, Yellow Diamond figured out that Rose Quartz was Pink Diamond. Desperate to keep it quiet, she sent out two gems to bring Pink home. A knowledgeable Peridot and a tough Jasper. These gems go to grab Pink, and they find not a powerful leader but a young child. During their mission, they also find an imprisoned homeworld gem and decided to set her free. After bringing the child back to the ship they learned it might be a while till they can bring him home, and until then they would have to raise him to be a proper diamond.
Comments: 77
Kudos: 246





	1. The one where the Homeworld Gems obtain a baby

“How did the plan go?”

“There were complications.”

“What do you mean complications?”

“Pink Diamond decided to transform into a human,” Peridot said as she held up a small little baby who’s gem was on full display.

Yellow Diamond looked appalled as Peridot showed her the squishy little meat bag. She then composed herself and gave Peridot the order, “Destroy that new physical form and bring Pink back to Homeworld.”

Peridot coughed nervously, as she handed the baby back to Jasper, “You see, my Diamond, we think that if we destroy this form, then we risk damaging the gem.”

“Then just bring the thing to Homeworld,” She seemed exasperated as she typed something onto her screen.

“Well, my Diamond, we also believe that this form might not be able to survive the trip to Homeworld.” Peridot started to sweat a bit as Yellow Diamond pounded her fist on her chair.

“Pink was always so stubborn,” She waved off her anger and then looked directly at Peridot, “You are to make sure no harm comes to her. Okay?”

Peridot nodded before making the diamond symbol across her chest, “Yes, my Diamond.”

“Give me monthly updates, and I will try to find out how to bring Pink back home,” Then, before Peridot could respond, the video feed cut out.

The green gem looked over to her two new colleagues, with Jasper holding the small baby and Lapis staring at the floor. The blue gem wasn’t originally supposed to be part of this mission, but after finding her in the Crystal Gem hideout, they decided they might as well free her.

The three gems just looked at each other, wondering what to do next, when all of a sudden the baby starts crying.

Lapis takes the baby out of Jaspers’s hand and starts to gently rock it, “Steven, it’s okay.” 

“Why are you calling her Steven?” Jasper asked as she tried to ignore the fact that Lapis just yanked the small child out of her hand.

“That’s his name,” Lapis slowly started to calm the baby down, “ Also IT is a boy.”

“How do you know all of this?” Peridot piped in as she watched Lapis take care of the child and made sure to take mental notes for future reference.

Lapis took a long look at Steven, “I was able to watch them from the mirror. I listened as they discussed taking care of him.” 

“Then you can help us raise him!” Peridot gave a small excited shout as she created little green jazz hands with her limb enhancers. 

Lapis was in such shock she almost dropped the baby. They had agreed to let Lapis call Blue Diamond and explain her situation so that she could return to Homeworld. She just wanted to return to Homeworld, “ That wasn’t the deal.”

Peridot gave a small little ticking sound of disapproval, “You can still clear your name with Blue Diamond, but this is for the greater good of Homeworld. It’s your duty as a gem to do this.”

Lapis looked at the small child in her arms, she remembered the gems saying something about him being at full strength when he reaches the age of eighteen. She tried to think about how eighteen years would be worth it, cause, in the end, she would be back at Homeworld, “Alright, do I really have a choice?” 

Peridot shook her head, “No!” She then patted Lapis’ head as if she was a child, and she was rewarding her for making the right decision.

Peridot looked around at the ship they were in and gave a relieved sigh, “ You know I think we are going to rock this.”


	2. Steven's First Mission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jasper convinces Peridot to let Steven go on his first mission. This excites Steven and worries Peridot.

Jasper’s helmet came crashing towards Steven, who quickly created a protective bubble around himself, “Jasper, please stop!”

“No! We are finishing this.” She kept ramming her helmet into his bubble until it started to crack.

“Jasper, please!” Steven said as he started to sweat; All of his efforts were focused on keeping this bubble from popping. Even with all that focus, the bubble still popped, and Steven was thrown back with a thud.

Jasper stopped and her helmet immediately disappeared as she ran over to Steven, “Hey little buddy, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Steven said rubbing his neck nervously, “That was just a hard training session.”

Jasper chuckled as she helped him up, “Well, I always told you that I don’t go easy,” She looked over Steven a few more times before continuing, “ You lasted longer than last time. You’re improving quite a bit.”

Steven laughed off Jasper’s complement and was about to talk to her about improvements when Peridot walked into the training room. She told Steven that lunch was ready.

“It’s my famous soup, so don’t let it get cold,” This prompted Steven to excitedly run out of the room and towards the other end of the ship. Once he left the room, Peridot turned to Jasper, “You should be more careful when training him.”

“He hasn’t gotten hurt yet, okay?” Jasper gave a small grunt as she tried to move past her, yet Peridot used her limb enhancers to stop the gem in her tracks.

“He hasn’t gotten hurt YET.” Peridot gave her a glare to signify that this conversation was not over.

“He wants me to push him this hard,” Jasper’s voice was snappy as she moved Peridot out the way, even her limb enhancers couldn’t stop the bulky gem, “ Besides, he is a Diamond. He isn’t exactly fragile.”

“His gem might not be, but his physical form is!” She yelled as Jasper left the room, the ship door closing behind her.

Jasper walked into the makeshift kitchen. The counters were thrown together with driftwood and smoothed rocks. The chairs were all different styles, and they may or may not have been stolen from a boat by Jasper. The stove and fridge were both things that Peridot found in a junkyard. She refurbished them so that they actually worked, but you could tell that these items were from the ’90s. The sink was bent and barely working, but it got the job done. 

Jasper looked over to Steven, slurping his soup, and Lapis sitting beside him reading a book, “Can you name the five common gem types?” 

Steven took a moment to think, and while doing so he took an extra-long and thoughtful slurp, “Ruby, Amethyst, Amber, Topaz, aaaaannnndd…” He took another moment to think, “Onyx!” He said with an excited triumph.

Lapis grinned and flipped the page in search of the next question. Steven happily continues his soup as Lapis kept flipping through pages. Jasper sat by Steven who looked up at her curiously, “Jasper! Want to study with me?”

Jasper just shook her head, “I’m not exactly book smart, little dude,” She immediately regretted the words once she saw the disappointed look on Steven’s face. She took a sigh and decided to cheer him up with an idea she had been bouncing around for a while, “Though, I wanted to know if you could go on a mission with me tomorrow?”

Steven’s eyes lit up with excitement, and Lapis’ eyes lit up with surprise, “Did Peridot approve of this?” The blue gem asked with disbelief.

“I didn’t know I had to get her approval,” Jasper said plainly. She looked back at Steven, who was dancing in his seat and singing some song he made up.

“I’m going on a mission! I’m going on a mission!” He sang until he saw Peridot enter the room, and then he suddenly seemed hyper-focused on his soup. The green gem seemed furious as she stepped towards Jasper.

“He is going on a WHAT!” She asked, and Jasper just gave her a taunting smile.

“He is going on a mission with me. In fact, it’s to a kindergarten.” She smiled as she saw Peridot react to the name of her old stomping grounds.

“What are you doing there?” She asked as anger poured out of her. Steam seemed like it was going to come out of her ears.

“We were going to dismantle the incubators,” Jasper said, “They are some powerful tech, and it would be really bad if the Crystal Gems got a hold of that stuff.”

Steven then jumped out of his chair, bouncing up and down, “Do you think that we will run into them? I want a chance to show off my sweet moves.” He pretended to punch the air as he made pows and blams to signify he hit someone.

“The Crystal Gems are dangerous! You aren’t ready to fight them.” Peridot said calmly to Steven, but her focus wasn’t on him; it was on Jasper who should have known this was a stupid idea.

“We aren’t going to run into the crystal gems,” Jasper looked at Lapis who hid her face in her book to avoid becoming a part of this, “I bet Lapis would agree with me.”

Peridot waited for Lapis to reply to that statement, but she just gave a sigh as she closed her book, “I think Steven should decide if he is ready or not.”

“I’m ready!” Steven chanted as Peridot rubbed her temples. The green gem wouldn’t admit it, but she did think Steven deserved to see the world outside the ship. Though sending him on a mission during his third trip out, it seemed too dangerous.

Peridot looked at Steven who was giving her a pleading look and a face she couldn’t say no too. She gave a sigh before turning to Jasper, “You are not to let him out of your sight, and SHOULD you run into the Crystal Gems then you don’t fight them. You warp home immediately. Understood?”

Jasper leaned in real close to Peridot and whispered, “I don’t take orders from you.”

Peridot stared her down and responded with a similar tone, “ Well this time you do, cause if you don’t then Steven doesn’t go on the mission.”

Steven placed himself in-between the two gems, “We will follow those rules Peridot. I will be totally safe, and I promise that if anything goes wrong, I will come right home.” He raised his fingers for scouts honor.

Jasper sighed and followed Stevens lead, “ Ya, we will make sure to follow all your rules.”

Peridot gave a small nod of approval and watched as Steven continued to dance around, excited about his new quest. He jumped up to reach Peridot and gave her a big bear hug.

“Thank you Peridot! Thank you, thank you, thank you!” He said as he tightened his hug. He finally let go and looked at Jasper, “So when is the mission?”

“In an hour, so go get ready,” Jasper replied calmly, and she enjoyed looking at yet another shocked look that formed on Peridot’s face. 

“An hour?” The green gem was done at this point, “At least give him a day to get prepared!”

“ Sometimes he won’t have an hour,” Jasper got out of her chair and started to walk towards her room, “He needs to learn that being a Diamond means not everything is going to be planned out for him. He is a leader and needs to learn to think on his feet.”

“He is a child,” Peridot replied, “You can’t just throw him into a difficult situation during his first mission.”

“Taking parts from the incubators is hardly a difficult mission, also this is my area. You teach him about Diamond etiquette and stuff, Lapis teaches him about homeworld, and I teach him how to fight,” She took a long breath before she exited the room, “You don’t get to decide how I teach.”

Once Jasper left Peridot was inraged. She shot daggers at Lapis for not taking her side, “What was that?” 

Lapis shrugged, “If Steven believes he is ready, then let him at least try.” 

Peridots metal feet clanked on the ship’s floor as she paced back and forth. She ran her floating fingers through her hair in an attempt to calm herself down. Lapis noticed the gem struggling, and she patted her shoulder. 

“Hey, it will be fine. If anything happens Steven will come home. Steven never breaks a promise,” Lapis gave her a smile, and that seemed to help her calm down.

“Thanks, Lazuli,” Peridot said, taking a deep, peaceful breath, “You’re right, I should calm down.”

As she said that Steven returned from packing. He carried a small red backpack and claimed he brought snacks plus a gem destabilizer, the essentials. A few minutes later Jasper came into the kitchen, “You ready kid?”

Steven gave an excited nod, and Peridot watched as Jasper opened the ship’s bay. The orange gem took Steven out of the ship, and the bay closed behind them.

“Oh god,” Peridot said as the door closed, “They are not ready for this.”

While Peridot was freaking out inside the ship, Jasper was leading Steven to the warp pad. The forest around them was thick and hid the sparkly blue circle. When they got to the pad Jasper looked at Steven, “Do you remember how to use this?”

Steven gave a confident nod, and Jasper sent the warp to the Beta Kindergarten. She let Steven stare in awe for a few seconds at the expansive canyon that was decorated with gem sized holes, “So this is how gems are made?” 

“Ya,” She replied as she headed towards the first incubator, cutting Stevens ogling short. He quickly followed her and began asking questions.  
“So is this the kindergarten you came from?”

“No.”

“Why did they shut this kindergarten down?”

“Same reason they shut everything down. The rebellion.”

“Why didn’t-” He was suddenly cut off by Jasper putting a hand over his mouth. She dragged him behind a rock and gave him a look of sternness. Her eyes said it all to him, be quiet. 

An onion-like creature with a flower on its head and multiple feet, which seemed to resemble roots, was about ten yards away from them. The creature was sniffing around the area before letting out a large roar, which showed it gopher like teeth. 

Jasper whispered to Steven, “That’s a corrupted gem,” She then proceeded to grab Steven’s red bag and reach in to pull out the gem destabilizer. 

“Whats a corrupt gem?” Steven asked but he got no answer, only Jasper describing the game plan.

“Okay, so create your shield then, let me bounce off of it and on to the top of the monster,” Jasper said as she readied the destabilizer.

“Shouldn’t we leave? Peridot told us…” 

“I don’t care what Peridot said!” Jasper yelled before covering her mouth and looking over the rock to see if the creature noticed her outburst. The monster noticed alright and was in the middle of charging them.

“Steven create a bubble!” Jasper barked the order as she summoned her helmet. She vaulted out from behind the rock and began to run at the creature. She jumped and let her helmet come down with a crack. The monster stumbled back, before charging again, this time Jasper let the destabilizer crackle to life in her hand.

She stayed still as the creature ran full speed towards her. She waited for the right moment, and then suddenly she slid under to the belly of the beast, sticking the destabilizer into its stomach. Yellow lines crawled up the creature, until finally, it disappeared and Steven came out of hiding.

“Jasper, that was amazing!” Steven said as he popped his own bubble and ran up to her.

Jasper picked up the purple Amythest gem that dropped and put a small bubble around it. She tapped it, and it disappeared. Steven watched with wonder and then proceeded to ask a million questions.

“What was that?”

“I told you, a corrupt gem.”

“I know but what is a corrupt gem?”

“A weak gem who couldn’t handle the war.”

“And what about…” Jasper gave him a look that cut him off. He then looked at the ground once he realized he was prying.

“Look, I will tell you about it before our training session tomorrow, but first, we have a mission to finish.” Jasper continued towards the first incubator, and they finished their walk in silence.

In fact, the rest of their mission was in silence. They just went from incubator to incubator, taking out wires and small little tanks that looked like they held fluid. Jasper would pull them out and throw them to Steven, who would stuff them in his bag.

Once they were almost done, Steven deemed it was time for dinner. The sun was about set over the purple canyon walls and Steven pulled out his PB&J. They sat on a rock, and Jasper watched her companion eat. 

Then Jasper decided to speak, “Hey, can we not tell Peridot about us seeing the corrupt gem? I know if she finds out, she will never let you on missions again.”

Steven thought for a moment, “I mean, if she doesn’t ask me about it, then my lips are sealed.”

Jasper took a sigh because that wasn’t the answer she wanted, but she knew there was no convincing Steven to do anything else. He had always followed his own little moral code.

“You know, I had fun today!" Steven took the last bite of his sandwich and began to lick the remaining jelly off his fingers. 

Jasper gave a smile before getting up, “ Well the day isn’t over yet! We still have three more machines to dismantle.”

They finished the last few machines before heading home. Peridot immediately went to check on Steven once he walked through the bay door. She stuck a thermometer into his mouth and checked his pulse, “Thank god you’re okay! I was worried the whole time.”

“Peridot, we were only gone for three hours.” Jasper calmly tried to separate her and Steven but did not succeed since Peridot had entered mother mode.

“I know it was such a long time.” She said as she checked the thermometer, “Okay, his vitals are fine. I will do another check in the morning, though.”

Steven chuckled before looking at the time, “I’m absolutely wiped out. I think I'll head to bed early, see you in the morning.”

Steven walked into his room, which had video games and TV show posters on the cold-hard ship walls. His bed was a mattress stolen, similar to the stolen chairs, in the early 2000s. Since the gems didn’t understand how to use money they tended to steal a lot of his stuff. An old tv was in his room as well, Peridot had found it on the side of the road. She refurbished it, and it was placed a few feet in front of his bed. Beside it, were some DVDs of an old show called Camp Pining Hearts, a show that he and Peridot made a weekly tradition to watch.

He flopped onto his bed and ran through his day. He reminded himself not to forget to ask Jasper about the corrupted gems and why they got corrupted in the first place. As he was thinking this, he felt his eyelids getting heavy until suddenly he was fast asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See, I promised a longer chapter today. I hope you like it. If you have any critique, or comments be sure to tell me. I love reading comments, and I will try to update soon since I know you all need some content for quarantine.


	3. Questions Answered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jasper sits down with Steven to answer some questions about corruption. She tells about how corruption has affected her through a story, that shows Steven just how harmful the Crystal Gems can be.

Jasper was made to be on the front lines of the gem war. Her strength inspired the Homeworld soldiers to keep fighting even when it seemed impossible. She became a symbol of victory, and stories were told about her heroic acts for Homeworld. Every gem seemed to have a tale of Jasper, the towering orange earth gem.

“Once I saw her poof twelve crystal gems in one punch!” A Ruby would brag.

“Well, I saw her send a whole battalion of rebels running with just one of her frightening glares,” A Citrine would remark.

Jasper would admit that it felt good hearing these stories being told, it made her believe she was doing the right thing. It made her know she was properly serving her Diamond. In the end, that’s all she cared about; She was so determined to serve her Diamond that she would be willing to do anything for her. She would even give up her life if it meant that her Diamond would be safe.

So when news broke that Pink Diamond was shattered, by Rose Quartz no less, Jasper was at a loss for words. She felt a distaste for the world around her build in her mouth. She started to hate the planet that created her because this was the planet that killed her Diamond. Earth now brought her a sense of undying hate, instead of the joy it should bring to her.

So when she got the early order to leave she couldn’t get on the ship soon enough. Everyone had an hour to get off the planet, but Jasper was given an extra two-hour notice because she was deemed a 'valuable gem'. Jasper could have scoffed at that assumption, because if she was really that great, then she could have ended the Crystal Gems.

It was on the flight back that Jasper was informed about what happened. The Diamonds lost the war, and the Crystal Gems had triumphed. The flight back to Homeworld was filled with a bitter silence. Then the news got around about what happened to the Crystal Gems when a group of Topaz soldiers got off a beaten up ship.

“We almost didn’t make it. The rebels saw us retreating but still tried to stop us. We narrowly made it out when the Diamonds corrupted them.” A particularly beaten up Topaz announced.

Battle reports showed that twenty percent of troops didn’t make it out that day. If Jasper wasn’t bitter and angry before, she was now. All those gems, people she used to fight side by side with, now gone. She felt like a failure, and she tried to forget her past and her home. She would snap at anyone who mentioned her war tales. It wasn’t until she got sent on a mission to earth, that she realized this was a chance to redeem herself.

When Yellow Diamond informed her and Peridot that Pink Diamond was alive, Jasper couldn’t help but be filled with joy. She was told that the Crystal Gems had captured her and that it was her job to retrieve the powerful leader.  
Once she and Peridot got to earth, they had to locate Pink’s exact location. In their search, Jasper saw her first corrupted gem. She didn’t recognize it until she saw the yellow citrine gem on the creature’s forehead. The creature had sharp teeth and slithered on its stomach towards Jasper. She saw how the creature lacked eyes and how it seemed so soulless without them. They had to fight the creature, and once the battle ended, Jasper asked Peridot what to do with the creature’s gem.

“There is no known cure for corruption, so you could break it and put the poor gem out of its misery, or you could bubble it,” The green gem seemed to be typing something down on her portable screen as she waited for Jasper to decide.

Jasper couldn’t bring herself to break it. This could be one of her companions from the war, so she just bubbled it and discovered that the gem appeared in an empty room on the ship.

“I’m surprised you didn’t break it,” Peridot said when she saw the bubbled gem, “You always talk about how you hate weakness and how it has no place in this universe,”

“What makes you think this gem was weak?”

“Well, all corrupt gems were mentally unstable and weak at one point. That’s how corruption works.”

Jasper glared at Peridot, “You have no idea what you are talking about,” Her voice formed into a snarl, “That’s not what happened here, none of these gems deserved this.”

Every time Jasper saw a corrupted gem her anger grew. She thought about how heartless the Crystal Gems were. They just had to take as many innocent gems down with them as they could; gems that were retreating the fight. Gems that just wanted to go home.

She found that she could never bring herself to shattering the gems. She knew that it would stop their pain but she couldn’t do it. Every time she tried, she would think of the Ruby she shared a ship with or the Amythest that she went scouting with. So she just put them in a room where they would remain bubbled until they inevitably returned to Homeworld. Then she would turn them over to the Diamonds, and they would decide what to do with them.

❖❖❖

Jasper looked at Steven who seemed in shock. His mouth hung open as he listened to Jasper’s story and his brow furrowed when he heard what the Crystal Gems did, “Why did they hold those gems back? They were retreating.”

Jasper just shook her head when Steven asked the question, “Steven, the Crystal Gems didn’t care what you were doing; if you were on Homeworlds side then they did everything, and I mean everything, they could to hurt you.”

Steven then thought about how the Diamonds corrupted everyone, “Why didn’t the Diamonds wait for everyone to get off the planet?”

“They didn’t have time. Word had spread that since the rebels took down a Diamond, they planned to take the fight off-world. They had to stop them as soon as possible.” Jasper said as she got up to leave.

“Wait, Jasper-” Steven was cut off by the sad smile Jasper gave.

“Let’s stop with the questions today, okay little buddy?” She realized that this is why she put off telling Steven about the corrupt gems. She knew he could handle it, but she was barely keeping her cool as Steven asked her questions. As she was telling the story she had felt a weird mix of anger and sadness flowing through her. She wasn’t the type of person that showed her emotions, anger being the exception, but thinking of her time on Earth always got her choked up. She could almost laugh at how badly she handled it; how weak she was;

As Jasper walked out she noticed Lapis waiting outside the door, she assumed it was to wait for Steven and to take him to his next lesson. He did mention something about a test today.

“Your session is done early,” Lapis said with a tone that tried to hide her suspicion, “What happened?”

“I taught him all I could for today,” Jasper remarked with a shrug. Lapis seemed to accept the answer before walking into the training room, probably to drag Steven to his test.

Jasper quickly walked into her room, where she sat on her chair and pounded her fist on her desk. She focused on changing all her sadness into anger, she felt the flame pooling up inside of her. She always found that anger was a much more productive emotion than sadness, and she avoided holding onto sadness at all costs. She had become a pro at shifting her emotions, and in less than a minute she was angrier than ever. She walked out of the room and stomped outside.

She was going to go hit a rock.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys! I hope you are all staying safe in quarantine. I also hope that you all enjoy this chapter, and if you did then please leave me a kudos or comment because those can help me get better. I always enjoy reading comments so don't be shy to share. I will try to post another chapter soon!


	4. Monthly Reports and TV Shows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peridot has her monthly report with Yellow Diamond. She then gets excited about her movie night with Steven.

Peridot waited patiently by the Diamond contact line. She hated the monthly updates, and she hated how nervous she got about them. The green gem always had a lump in throat whenever the Diamond would call her. This time was no different.

When the giant yellow face appeared on her screen, she couldn’t help but get a cold sweat. She instantly got into position with her arms crossing into a Diamond over her chest. Yellow Diamond gave a nod of acknowledgment, which was Peridot’s cue to start talking.

“Pink Diamond has been progressing surprisingly fast lately. He has gotten 100% on his gem knowledge test, which we increase the difficulty of by 15%, and Jasper remarks that his fighting strength has grown remarkably in the past few weeks. I, of course, did calculations and saw that his stamina has increased 10% in the last month. I have video logs of this, in case you want to see.” Peridot paused for a moment to let the woman respond. 

The leader just waved her hand, “That won’t be needed, but continue,”

“Of course, my Diamond,” Peridot pulled up her screen and started to look through her notes, “He grew at least an inch this month, which is significantly higher than the other recent months’, and his homeworld etiquette lessons have been going well. He is shaping up to be a wonderful Diamond. Though that’s to be expected considering his heritage,” She scrolled through a few notes before striking gold, “ I believe he is advanced enough to start his first model colony.”

Yellow Diamond paused for a moment, going still before a slightly disgusted look formed on her face, “ He will not begin any model colonies until he is on Homeworld.”

“I am sorry, my Diamond, but he seems to be ready for it, and he won’t be able to go to homeworld for at least another four years,” Peridot said, “Should he not start learning these things as soon as possible?”

Yellow Diamond rubbed her temples, “While I appreciate your concern, it is not your place to question my authority. I want Pink to learn about colonies from the Diamonds because we saw what happened last time.”

Peridot nodded and placed the Diamond symbol across her chest again, “I am sorry my Diamond, you are absolutely right, as always,”

Yellow just shook her head, “You’re forgiven,” She took a pause, “Is that all you have for me, Peridot?”

Peridot nodded, “Yes My Diamond,”

“Then goodbye,”

The screen cut out, and just like that, it was over. A month of gathering information, she never asked for elaborations on, and a month of nervously preparing a speech just for it to be over in less than five minutes. It was fine though because it was for the good of Homeworld. It was for the good of Steven.

There was one thing she loved about her monthly reports, though. After every monthly report was a Camp Pining Hearts night, technically they had a CPH night every week, but Steven made sure to also have one on monthly report days. This was a night where she and Steven could bond over a corny earth show, where hot actors were more important than plot. It was dumb, but that’s what was good about it.

Peridot walked out of the meeting room and made her way to the kitchen. It was her night on dinner duty, but she was running late due to the report. When she walked into the kitchen she saw Lapis boiling some water and throwing in long stringy pasta. She felt a wave of relief wash over her as she realized Lapis covered for her, but just as soon as that hit, there was a wave of guilt.

“Lapis, you didn’t have to start Steven's dinner for me,” Peridot said as she walked up behind her, looking for something she could do to help.

“Calm down Peridot, it’s only spaghetti. It’s not exactly a hard dish,” Lapis chuckled as she added salt to the pot. 

“I feel bad you had to start it for me though,” Peridot was still searching for something to do as she said this, but quickly gave up her search after realizing it was, in fact, only spaghetti.

“Be thankful it was me and not Jasper that stepped in.” She used her powers to gently stir the pot while she continued the conversation, “She is the worst cook.”

“She is kinda a clod when it comes to cooking,” Peridot laughed.

They both chatted for a few minutes before the pasta was done. Lapis began to heat the thick red pasta sauce before turning to Peridot, “Hey, would you mind getting Steven for me?”

“Sure,” Peridot said before walking towards Steven’s room. As she walked to Steven’s room she couldn't help but chuckle at the situation she was in. She was such a stickler for the hierarchy, but right now she was in a situation where a Lapis Lazuli would even bother talking to a Peridot. Also, the fact that they were raising a Diamond. They were raising the person that would someday lead their nation. It seemed ironic in a weird way

Peridot knocked on Steven’s bedroom door to hear him call from within, “Coming,” 

She heard the sad sound of a video game level failing from outside the door before hearing Steven’s feet start walking towards the entrance. Once he opened the door Peridot noticed he was already in his favorite PJs, the ones he always wore when they watched Camp Pining Hearts, “Oh, Peridot. Have you come to watch CPH with me?”

Peridot ruffled his hair before giving him a grin, “Are you forgetting dinner? Maybe we need to do another memory test?”

“No!” Steven said nervously, scared she wasn’t kidding, “ Those tests take forever.”

Peridot let out a long laugh, “I’m joking, but seriously go wash up.”

With that, Steven ran to his bathroom so that he could wash his hands. Peridot started to smell the pasta and tomato sauce. The aroma floating through the halls of the ship. Suddenly, Steven was running past her, “It's spaghetti time!”

“No running through the ship!” Peridot called after him, but it was no good. He had already turned the corner and was gone.

Peridot decided to take this time to get ready for CPH night. She went to her room and put on some PJ’s that Steven convinced Lapis to buy at the market. It was long jogger-like pants that had little green aliens on them, and a t-shirt with a UFO. Steven insisted that these were mandatory to wear on CPH nights. She liked the PJs but would never truly admit it, plus they were a hassle to get over her limb enhancers.

She went to Steven's room and adjusted his TV so that it would play their favorite show, and by the time Steven was done with dinner, all the pillows were set up for their weekly routine.

Once they both got comfortable, Peridot clicked the remote, and the show started to play. It began with its corny intro that she and Steven almost always talked over. 

“So, what did Yellow say about me?” He asked. Peridot looked over at him but he seemed to be avoiding her eyes.

“She was very impressed with your improvements,” Peridot lied through her teeth. Her voice changing pitch a little as she did so. She couldn’t bring herself to tell him that she all but ignored his progress.

Steven laughed as his eyes started to focus on the show, “I know your lying Peridot, but it’s okay.”

“What?” She questioned, “Who said I’m lying.”

“I have known you my whole life, so I can tell when your lying.” He shifted in his seat, and Peridot couldn’t tell if he was uncomfortable or nervous, “It’s okay if she is disappointed. I can take it.”

Peridot let the room go silent for a moment as she thought about what to say, “Since when do you care about what Yellow Diamond thinks?”

“Since forever. She is my older sister.” Steven seemed to be really uncomfortable now. His tone and the look on his face seemed to show he regretted asking the question.

“She takes notes of your accomplishments, but rarely adds remarks to them,” Peridot told him. It was the truth, but a tad bit sugar-coated

“Is it true that she doesn’t think I’m ready for a model colony?’

“You were listening to the report, weren’t you?”

“Maybe, but you’re avoiding my question.”

Peridot sighed and paused the show, “ Steven, you know that I care about all your accomplishments right?”

“You’re still avoiding my question,” Steven said as he looked away from the blank TV to Peridot.

“Yes,” Peridot admitted, “Its true, but I think you are, and the only reason she doesn’t want you to start one now is because they want to personally teach you that.”

Steven gave a grimace when Peridot mentioned they wanted to personally teach him about colonies, “Why would they want to teach me when they don’t even know me?”

Steven reached over to the remote and they started to watch Camp Pining Hearts in silence. After thirty minutes with one couple getting together and three people getting backstabbed due to the color war, the credits finally started to roll across the screen.

Peridot got up to leave when Steven finally said something to her, “Goodnight, Peridot.”

She let out a sigh of relief and replied to him, “ Goodnight, Steven. Sweet dreams,” Then she left the room.

Peridot went to her room and started to pace around it. Her limb enhancers gave a metallic clank as she walked around, which apparently woke Jasper up.

“I’m trying to sleep here,” She said with venom in her tone.

“Since when do you sleep?” Peridot asked as she stopped her pacing. She made a mental note to take her limb enhancers off after hours from now on.

“I decided to try it around a month ago,” Jasper replied before focusing back on what she came here for, “What are you pacing about?”

“Its Steven,” Peridot announced.

Suddenly Jaspers upset expression turned to concern for Steven, “What’s wrong with him?”

“He is worried about what Yellow Diamond thinks of his monthly reports.”

“The little guy has been doing great. What is there to worry about?” 

“Yellow Diamond hasn’t said anything about his improvements, and today Steven overheard her saying he wasn’t ready for a model colony.” Peridot sighed as she started to pace again, but this time Jasper grabbed her shoulder to stop her.

“If Steven is so worried about his monthly reports, then just let him attend them.” Jasper’s voice was now in a calming tone. It seemed rational and level headed.

“I don’t think Yellow Diamond wants him there,” Peridot replied.

“He is a Diamond,” Jaspers said point-blank, “He can attend whatever the heck he wants.”

Peridot didn’t know how it hadn’t hit her before, “Thank you, Jasper! What would I do without you?”

Jasper just shrugged. She was about to leave the room when she suddenly stopped, and shot daggers at Peridot, “I swear, if I hear your metal feet stomping around again, I will personally throw your limb enhancers into the nearest raven,” Then she left.

❖❖❖

When Steven woke up in the morning there was a note on his door. He was a bit groggy, but his face lit up when he saw what it said.

“ _Dear Steven,_

_I was informed that you wanted to be incorporated into the monthly report, but sadly I do not have permission to authorize this. I believe that the only way you could attend this meeting is by direct order from a Diamond. So anyway, I hope you can figure out a way to attend the meeting._

_Signed Peridot.”_

Steven smiled as he read the message and took solace in the fact that he was going to be at next month’s report. He was going to go on and on about his statistics right next to Peridot, whether Yellow liked it or not. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm kinda becoming addicted to updating this Lol. I also want to say that I am so happy this has gotten positive feedback. I am really enjoying making this and I am glad to hear you guys enjoy reading it.


	5. The field-trip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lapis takes Steven on a field trip to her favorite gem structures.

After Steven got such a good grade on his test, Lapis convinced Peridot that she should take him on a field trip. She watched as Steven packed his trusty red backpack with snacks and little knick-knacks. Finally, he said he was ready, and they began to exit the ship.

“Be back before dinner!” They heard Peridot yell as the bay door closed.

Lazuli was surprised Peridot was letting Steven be out that long since the sun was just starting to rise, and dinner would be after sundown. She was about to talk to Steven about it, but she just caught him staring in awe at the sunlight climbing through the evergreen trees. The rays of light baked the green pines with a golden tint. Lapis hadn’t realized he never saw the sunrise before, and how the beauty of this scene was all but lost on her from seeing it so much.

“How is your first sunrise, Steven?” Lapis asked. She decided to stop and enjoy the sunrise as well before stepping on the warp pad. She wanted to let this all sink in.

“It’s amazing,” He had the biggest smile on his face as he said this. His eyes filled with wonder, “It’s so much brighter than a sunset. “

Lapis smiled and let the sunshine warm up her skin, “If you think this is cool, just wait till you see our first destination.”

Steven's excitement multiplied; how could anything be better than this? He stepped on to the crystal pad, excited to figure out what their first destination would be.

Lapis sent the warp pad to some floating islands. They all lead up to a tower that seemed to touch the sky.

“Woah, what is this place?” Steven asked as he looked around. Wildflowers were everywhere and clouds floated around him. He looked at the spire which had stairs that wrapped around a main floating island, and a dome-like structure laid at the top.

“They sent the smartest gems here to think,”

“Think about what?”

“Battle strategies,” The gem said before she revealed her watery wings, “Hop on and let see if we can find anything cool in there.”

Steven climbed onto Lapis’ back as she started to fly over a floating pathway. She then reached the main island that had the spiraling tower on it.

“Okay,” The watery gem said as she put Steven down, “This is an educational trip so pop quiz! Which gem is known for creating floating islands ?”

Steven just smirked, “Easy, Carnelian.”

“Which gems are known for building these types of spires?”

“Bismuths,” “What kind of mineral is harnessed to help keep the island afloat?”

“Contained Helium.” Lapis gave Steven a nod, “Alright, I’m impressed…” She gave a pause as she studied the area around them, “but I will be more impressed if you beat me to the top!” Then she started to sprint up the spire.

“You cheated!” Steven yelled as he ran after Lapis up the stairs. The two gems managed to race halfway up the structure, but Lapis stopped Steven.

She had looked over her shoulder and noticed the view laid out before them. She saw the rolling mountains covered in green and a large river running between them. Clouds dotted their view of the emerald hills that seemed to go on forever.

“Steven,” Lapis called his name to get his attention before pointing at the view before her, “Does that beat the sunrise you saw?”

Steven seemed to have stars in his eyes when he finally noticed the view. He couldn’t believe all the sights he had seen in just the span of a few hours, and this was just their first stop of the trip! What else did Lapis have in store for him?

They continued up the tower, still admiring the view. Once they reached the top they were met with the dome. It had statues adorn about, and carvings etched into the walls. It seemed so peaceful up there.

“This is all so gorgeous,” Steven said as he looked at the room around him. His hand grazing over the statutes, feeling the smoothed stone.

“I know, right?” 

“This planet is just so amazing,” Steven said with just pure wanting in his voice. It was a subtly wanting, and Lapis couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was he wanted. She couldn’t be bothered to figure it out, because she noticed where the sun was in the sky.

“You haven’t seen anything yet,” Lapis said to Steven, “Its time to see our next Gem structure.”

Steven was soon again on Lazuli’s back as they flew over the pathway of floating rocks. Once they reached the warp pad Lazuli looked to Steven, “This one is going to be a bit...” She took a pause, “ different.”

Steven nodded his head and didn’t really think much of the comment until he was warped to the next location. It was a field with giant strawberries, but strewn about it was wreckage from a battle. Swords scattered and broken across the red field. Axes were cracked and busted, but vines crawled up them as if they wanted nothing more than to claim the damaged weapon.

“What battle was this,” Steven asked as he looked at a mangled spear that lied next to the warp. He wondered if it was a rebel weapon or a homeworld gem's.

“I haven’t found the official name, but Jasper said that soldiers called it the battle of the obelisk,” Lapis went and started to look at the strawberries. She took a moment before telling Steven the rest, “We didn’t win this battle.”

Steven stopped looking at the spear when she said this, unwilling to think about what happened to the gem that fought with it, “If we didn’t win, then why did you bring me here?”

“Because I wanted to show you this,” Lapis picked a plump strawberry off a vine and handed it to Steven, “Eat this,”

Steven put the strawberry in his mouth as he looked suspiciously at his mentor, not understanding the purpose of the fruit. Then when the sweet berry hit his lips, he was suddenly overwhelmed by its delicious taste, “This is amazing.”

Lapis gave him a smile, “ I wanted to show you that even when you don’t win the battle, good things happen.” She then put a hand on his shoulder, “Kinda like you.”

Steven looked around him and suddenly saw a different picture. He saw a strawberry field that decided to bring life to an area plagued by destruction. It was as beautiful as the mountains he saw earlier but in a different way. Steven was about to tell Lapis about his thoughts, but she suggested an idea that he couldn’t ignore.

“Let’s bubble some of these strawberries so we can eat them as dessert later,” Lapis said as she picked up some more of the red fruit.

Steven followed suit, and soon they were sending armfuls of strawberries back to the ship via bubble. They laughed as they picked each berry, and Lapis even told a story about how Jasper tricked Peridot into thinking these berries were poisonous.

“We have to get Steven away from these!” Lapis quoted with her best Peridot impression, “ We can’t risk him touching this dangerous substance.”

They both giggled at Peridots overprotectiveness. Steven loved hearing the gems talk about his childhood. He found the misadventures hilarious, but also a testament to just how much they grew.

Once they were done Lapis took Steven to the warp one last time, “I’m going to take you to my favorite place,”

Lapis sent the device to the galaxy warp pad. Steven was a bit disappointed to see that this was just a giant platform in the sea.

“Alright,” Steven asked, “What’s so special about this place?”

“Watch this,” The blue gem closed her eyes and made the water rise up around them. Fish were swimming around the makeshift aquarium, and Steven even saw an octopus. Then Lapis made the water form a dome around them, the lowering sunlight rippling through the water. Steven watched as fish swam over his head, all of them so close he could touch them.

It was a rainbow of life that Steven had never seen before. They all seemed so at ease in their natural habitat, and Steven felt like he was in one of the nature documentaries that Peridot kept showing him. Then he saw Lapis open her eyes and admire her own work.

“There are a lot more fish than usual today,” Lapis said as she watched a hammerhead shark calmly swim by them.

They both then stood in a quiet bliss for a few minutes. Admiring the water and the fish. Then Lapis slowly lowered the water, returning the fish to the sea.

“We have to get home soon,” Lapis chuckled as the last bit of water sank down into the ocean, “I don’t want Peridot to get-,”

She was cut off by the sound of the warp pad activating. The two gems turned to see a tall slender figure standing on the crystal pedestal. She was pale, and she held herself like a ballerina about to start a dance. Then when she spoke Lapis realized exactly who she was; it was the Pearl that found her in the mirror.

“I knew I saw someone else in the warp,” The shiny white gem said, “What are you guys doing here?”

Steven just stared at the star that was on the gem’s chest, it was the unmistakable mark of a rebel.

When both of them didn’t answer the Pearl took a closer look at them. She then covered her mouth in shock, “ Rose?”

Lazuli finally snapped out of her state of shock, “Steven, we need to get out of here!” She sprouted her watery wings and grabbed hold of his hands. She started to fly off with Steven when she suddenly felt a force holding her back.

The Pearl was holding on to Steven’s feet, “ Wait! Steven, please you have to come back to us!”

Steven started to kick at the gem holding onto him, “Get off of me! You traitor!”

The white gem seemed to let go after hearing the phrase escape his lips. The words rang in her ears as she fell to the ground with a thud. Despite this, she never took her eyes off them as they took off into the night.

After they escaped, Lapis found herself racing to get back to the ship. An hour went by before they managed to reach their destination, and Steven noticed that his mentor’s breath was ragged with worry.

Lapis let Steven down before opening the ship bay. She stumbled into the ship with tears running down her face. She heard Peridot starting to chide her about being late to dinner, but she stopped when she noticed the state of her companion.

“Lazuli what happened?” The green gem asked.

“I messed up. I messed up. I messed up,” Lapis said as her breath started to fail her.

“Lapis tell me-” 

“I can’t go back! I can’t let Steven go back either,” She said, using what felt like her last bit of air.

“Lapis, you have to tell me what happened,” Peridot said as she put her arms on the shoulders of her friend.

“ The Crystal Gems saw us. They found us.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh wow! Look at that. Is that an actual plot forming? I hope you all had a nice easter, for those that celebrate, and I hope you are all having fun in quarantine. I hope my fanfiction can bring you some sort of entertainment while you're stuck at home. Anyway, as always, feel free to comment and tell me what you think of the story so far. I love reading comments, and it honestly makes my day to hear what you think of my story. I will post another chapter soon in a day or two probably.


	6. The one where the gems argue about what to do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gems discuss what to do about the Crystal Gems, and try to figure out a way that will keep Steven safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I debated adding this, but I would rather be safe than sorry. So trigger warning: Lapis basically goes through the aftermath of a panic attack and has some self-deprecating thoughts. It's pretty minimal, but if you think this could trigger you then, please skip to the seventh paragraph.

Lapis sat at the table, still shaken by the experience. She couldn’t even look at Jasper because she just thought about how weak she was being. She wanted to control herself, but her mind kept going back to the mirror. It was a hollow prison to her, and she shook when she thought about the time she spent in there. Thousands of years with no one to turn to, and no one to hear you scream.

They wanted her back in there. She couldn’t go back. She wouldn’t go back.

That wasn’t even the worst part of it all. She had revealed that Steven was still on the planet. Homeworlds entire future was now in jeopardy because of her.

Peridot was the first one to speak up, “Lapis, you can’t blame this on yourself. We couldn’t have known that they also use the warp pads.”

Jasper grunted in agreement with what Peridot said, “And now that we do know, we need to make a gameplan.”

Lapis just nodded to show she understood. God, she felt so stupid right now. She wanted to be productive. She wanted to stand up and help them come up with a plan, but right now all she could think about was the mess that she got everyone into.

“We should move the ship,” Peridot announced as she pulled up her screen, “We are less than a kilometer away from a working warp pad, and now that we know the Crystal Gems use warps we need to get to an area at least twenty miles away from a warp pad.”

“We can’t risk moving our ship around for that long. They will be looking for it now,” Jasper notified the green gem, “Also twenty miles away is not far enough away to be safe.”

“It takes around 2 hours for a gem to run twenty miles,” Peridot remarked, “That’s enough time for us to either leave or prepare for battle.”

“They have an amethyst in their group,” Jasper said, “ They can cover twenty miles in about five minutes.”

“Then what do you suggest we do Jasper?” Peridot’s tone was filled with aggravation, “Because I don’t see you coming up with many other ideas.”

“Well, I am sorry that it’s a crappy situation! There isn’t much we can do,” Jasper’s voice rose with aggravation. Her anger all directed at the green gem.

“You’re going to wake Steven,” Peridot said as she bit back a harsher tone. Her voice seemed to defend herself from the anger of the towering gem.

“He isn’t asleep, and you know it!” Jasper’s voice was now toxic, and it dripped with anger, “You really think he is in his room ignoring all of this?”

Peridot was about to form a rebuttal when Lapis stood up. She had managed to gather up her thoughts while the two gems were arguing, “We should destroy our warp pad.”

Her voice was quiet yet it still brought the attention of the room. Peridot typed something on her screen before running some quick numbers in her head, “That would put the nearest warp at over a hundred miles away,”

“And it’s better than moving the ship,” Jasper remarked, “But this is still just putting a bandaid on our problems.”

“Well, Jasper, sometimes we need a bandaid. Even if it doesn’t fix the problem.” Peridot pulled her screen down, “ I guess I should go and power down the warp.”

Peridot started to open the bay door, but Jasper stopped her, “How long will it take you to deactivate it?”

“A day, maybe two,” 

“That’s too long,” Jasper summoned her helmet and walked out the bay door. The two gems waited for a few minutes until they heard a splitting crack and the sound of rock breaking.

Jasper walked back onto the ship and closed the bay door, “ I will stay on watch tonight.”

Lapis shook her head, “No, Jasper, this was my fault. Let me take watch.”

The orange gem just kept watching the ship’s doors while she responded to Lapis, “Lapis, it wasn’t your fault. You don’t need to take watch tonight.”

The truth was Jasper knew the blue gem wouldn’t be able to handle it. If she was that shaken after seeing one crystal gem, then what would she do when three busted through the door.

Jasper sat down in a kitchen chair and stared at the door. It was her way of saying that she would take watch tonight, and nothing they said could convince her to do otherwise.

Eventually, the two gems left Jasper to watch the door. The warrior waited and prepared for the long night before her.

❖❖❖

Two hours had gone by when Steven stepped out from around the corner. Jasper gave him a weak look and turned to him, “Aren’t you supposed to be asleep?”

“I couldn’t sleep,” Steven said while he pulled up a chair by Jasper. He watched the door with her as if this was the best way to calm his mind.

“You were listening to our conversation earlier, weren’t you?” Jasper asked. The orange gem knew the answer because she knew Steven. That kid had to know everything.

“Ya,” Steven looked away from Jasper, a bit worried he was in trouble, “Did you really break the warp pad?”

Jasper just nodded her head, her eyes still fixated on the door, “We have to take precautions,”

“What about missions?” Steven asked.

“We might just have to postpone any missions for a while, okay Little Buddy?” Jasper gave him a smile. A small sign to show she thought it was going to be fine. Did she even believe herself though? Did she really think that they were going to be able to leave this situation unscathed?

With that, they sat in even more silence. Jasper was pretty sure Steven had dozed off in his chair, but she didn’t bother to check. She kept her focus on the bay door because she had a feeling something was off.

Then she shot up when she heard something knock on the door. It was light, non-purposeful, and could have easily been an animal. Jasper found it suspicious, though, and decided to investigate. She tapped Steven’s shoulder as a way to wake him up and was met with a groggy and tired boy.

“What time is it?” The child asked as he rubbed his eyes.

“Time for you to go to bed,” Jasper said to him. She noticed how annoyed the little gem was, but also how he was too sleepy to argue. He started to walk to his room when Jasper said one final thing to him, “And lock your door tonight. Just in case.”

Steven nodded as a way to show he heard her and proceeded to shuffle to his room. Once Jasper was sure he had made it there, she slipped into her own room. She went in and got a gem destabilizer.

It’s just a precaution, she told herself. She wouldn’t actually need to use it.

She soon found herself at the entrance to the ship, her hand on the control panel that would open the bay door. She set it too close the moment she got off the ship, and she took a deep breath to prepare herself. Then she pressed the button to open the metal door.

Once it opened she sprinted into the dark woods. The moment the door closed is when she finally started to take in her surroundings. The woods were filled with evergreen trees that blocked her line of sight. It prevented her from seeing anything that was more than a few yards away from her.

The moonlight broke through the trees but not enough to give Jasper a good bearing of her surroundings. She heard animals chirping, and then she heard something that sent shivers down her spine.

Footsteps.

She quickly started looking around her; they were here. She didn’t know where, but they were here. She summoned her helmet and let her gem destabilizer spark on. The sound of electricity echoed through the forest. She heard what she thought were more footsteps, and decided to finally call out to them.

“ Show your face!” Her voice traveled through the evergreens, and the area seemed to go quiet. 

She then heard a rustling in nearby bushes, but before she could investigate a bunny hopped out of its hiding spot. The white and fluffy creature looked up to Jasper as if it was innocent.

“Don’t tell me you caused all this nonsense,” Jasper said almost in a chiding tone towards the bunny. She could have laughed at her leap of logic. Of course, the Crystal Gems weren’t out here. How would they even find them?

Then suddenly a voice came from behind Jasper, “Don’t worry, he didn’t cause this.”

The orange gem turned to see another pinkish-purple gem behind her. She remembered this was the fusion that Jasper saw all those years ago; when they rescued Steven.

She pointed her destabilizer at the magenta fusion, “Get out of here, and I might spare you.”

The hybrid in front of her just clicked her tongue, “I wouldn’t say that if I were you,” She took a moment to let the words sink in, “Because you’re outnumbered.”

That’s when Jasper saw the two other gems step out from behind the trees. One was the Pearl Lapis saw earlier, and the other was a deformed amethyst. Both had their weapons out, the Pearl with a spear and the quartz with a whip. The fusion then summoned her weapon, and two giant fighting gloves appeared on her hands.

“I might be outnumbered but,” Jasper gave them a glare, “ I have a lot more in this fight than you do.”

“We’ll see about that,” The magenta gem said before charging at her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh wow! I wonder what happens next. I will say that my next update might take another day or two because I have to focus on schoolwork, but it still shouldn't take me more than three or four days to update.


	7. Second Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jasper has to fight the Crystal Gems in order to protect Steven. Though the odds aren't in her favor...

Jasper watched as the perma-fusion charged at her. She raised up her gem destabilizer and formed her plan of attack. She knew that this wasn’t going to be a fair fight, but Jasper had to win it. If she didn’t, then they would have no qualms with breaking into the ship and taking Steven.

They might even shatter him right there.

She couldn’t let that happen. So she had to fight with every ounce of strength she had. Without another thought, she jabbed the gem destabilizer at the charging gem, who quickly dodged it. She attempted to take the destabilizer out of Jasper’s hand, but the orange gem was ready. She gripped the weapon and pulled it away before her opponent could grab it.

She noticed one of the gauntlets on the gem’s hand heading towards her face, and she made the speedy decision to block the punch. She felt the opposing gems glove slam into her weapon. The iron made a thundering sound as it hit the hard crystal.

Jasper took this moment to move away from the hybrid gem and get a better look at her other opponents. The delicate Pearl seemed to be aiming her spear at the warrior, and she prepared to block the weapon. Though once her focus was on the Pearl, she found herself on the ground, and with something tangled around her feet. She looked down at what caused the problem, only to see the scrappy Amythest looking back at her, whip in hand.

“Man, this was easier than I thought,” The purple gem announced.

“Not that easy,” Jasper said, stabbing the whip with her gem destabilizer, which caused the rebel to drop her weapon. This gave Jasper the perfect chance to free herself.

The moment she got off the ground the fusion was, once again, charging her. Jasper decided to go on the offensive this time.

She charged at the other gem and got ready to feel the iron glove crash into her helmet. She prepared her gem destabilizer so that the moment she got hit, she could stab her right in the stomach.

That’s not what happened, though, because the fusion proceeded to punch her in the gut, and Jasper went flying backward. She only stopped because she crashed into a tree. She felt the rough bark tear into her back.

She attempted to get up but felt a spear pierce her shoulder as it nailed her to the wood. Her form felt drained, and she didn’t know how long she would last. The three rebels then surrounded her. The Fusion got inches from her face, “Tell us where Steven is.”

“I’m not telling you,” Jasper spat at the magenta figure.

“You don’t have much choice,” The Pearl said, pointing a sword at her throat. Where did she even get a sword?

“From your perspective, I don’t.” The orange gem gave them a devious smile.

She then watched as the Pearl got shot with a glowing green laser. The gems looked behind them and saw a green triangular figure standing on the top of the ship.

“Ha! I got you, you clods!” Peridot yelled, shooting another laser at the rebels.

Jasper took this moment and used her free hand to thrust her weapon into the fusion. A straight shot right into her back. Yellow lines crawled around in her skin, and the buzz of the weapon ran through her body. Then, almost as quickly as it happened, it was over. The gems split into two and disappeared. The only things remaining were her gemstones.

“Garnet!” The tall slender gem yelled, her voice turning into a slight screech.

She quickly scooped up the two gems and looked at the Amythest. They silently confirmed their retreat and soon ran back into the woods. The trees covering their trail, proving too difficult for the two homeworld gems to follow.

“How did they find us?” Peridot asked as she floated down from the roof of the ship, her enhancers acting like helicopter blades.

“I don’t-” That’s when Jaspers form finally gave out, and she proceeded to poof into her gem.

❖❖❖

Jasper reformed in the kitchen area. She let out a sigh of relief as her feet touched the ground, and when her eyes opened, she looked down at her new form. Her hair was now in a ponytail, and her v-neck jumpsuit now had its neckline resting at the collar-bone.

Once she took in her new form she looked around her. She saw Lapis discussing something with Steven, and Peridot walking back and forth, muttering something to herself. The room suddenly went silent when they saw Jasper reform.

Steven ran up to her and jumped up to reach her shoulder. He almost sent Jasper tumbling backward when he leaped up into her arms. She wrapped her arms around him, a bit confused as to why Steven was hugging her.

That was until she felt drops of water run down her back, and Steven’s chest felt heavy. She broke from the hug to look at the boy, surprised to find tears dripping down his face.

“Buddy, what's wrong?” She asked, wiping tears from his cheek.

“I was scared you wouldn’t reform. I was scared they cracked you or something,” He sniffled, going in for another hug.

“It takes a lot more than that to crack me,” Jasper said before tightening the hug. She felt his breath even out, and the sounds of crying seemed to have stopped.

Jasper let Steven down and looked towards Peridot and Lapis, who had patiently waited for the scene to end. The moment it was over Peridot started babbling, “ We need to move. We can’t stay here. We can't live our lives in fear of another attack,”

Jasper shook her head, “No matter where we move, they will eventually find us.”

Peridot nodded her head, “ I know that, which is why I came up with a plan.”

“We came up with a plan,” Lapis remarked. She looked at Jasper, her eyes seemed to plead forgiveness. Forgiveness for what Jasper didn’t know.

“Yes! We came up with a plan,” Peridot corrected herself, “Hold on to your gems because this is going to sound crazy...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if I got your hopes up for this fight scene. It was my first time writing one, and I know it not that good, but I would love to hear some helpful critique in the comments so my future fight scenes can be better. Also, just a little announcement, I decided to only update this fic on Fridays from now on. I did this for multiple reasons like wanting more time to edit so I can give you the best possible stories, and more time for me to plan future chapters. Anyway that’s all for announcements, see y’all soon.


	8. Breaking and Exiting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lapis and Jasper go on a mission to prevent the Crystal Gems from finding them ever again.

Lapis was in her room, preparing for the mission ahead of her. She felt the weight of a gem destabilizer in her hands. She never had to use the weapon, unlike Jasper, who used it regularly. She practiced flipping it on and off, watching it spark to life in between her fingers.

She was about to leave when she saw Jasper standing in the doorway. The large gem had a disappointed look on her face, and she proceeded to ask her question with a similar tone, “Why did you agree to go on this mission?”

Lapis didn’t expect the question, so it took her a moment to answer, “I thought I could be useful. It doesn’t take two gems to drive the ship, and it wouldn’t be safe for you to go alone.”

Jasper shook her head, unconvinced, “What’s the real reason?”

“That is the real reason,” Lapis tried her best to move past Jasper, but she stood in her way, blocking her escape.

"I just want to make sure you can handle it,” Jasper said this while looking down at Lapis. The gem adverted her eyes from Jasper and tried to ignore the look that she gave her.

“What makes you think I can’t handle it?” She knew what she was referring too, though. She knew this was about how she handled seeing the Pearl.

“Lapis,” Jasper mulled over her words, thinking of the right thing to say, “We can’t risk you freezing up.”

“The situation yesterday was different. It just was too familiar to…” She stopped herself because she didn’t need Jasper knowing these things. They didn’t concern her, “ I don’t need to explain myself too you. You just need to know that I can handle it.”

Jasper gave her a look of suspicion before leaving the doorway and letting the smaller gem exit. Lapis marched past her and made her way to the ship’s control room to check on Peridot. She walked in to find the green gem typing away at the screen.

“Everything okay in here?” Lapis asked, seemingly breaking Peridot from a hyperfocused trance.

“Oh! Ya, we should be ready to disembark when guys leave,” The green gem seemed to release a breath of air she didn’t know she was holding, and Lapis took note of how nervous she seemed.

“Your plans going to work,” Lapis said in hopes to calm down Peridot. Sadly her efforts seemed to fail.

“Well, it has to work,” Peridot said with an unconfident tone. She then shook her head, as if flinging the bad thoughts away, and decided to change the subject, “ When are you guys leaving?”

“In a few minutes,” Lapis told her.

“Goodluck,” The green gem gave her a little smile, and Lapis couldn’t say she didn’t appreciate the small gesture.

The terraformer gave her a smile in return and made her way to the bay doors. Jasper was already waiting by them, and the moment she noticed Lapis, she punched in the code.

“Ready?” The question came out as more a command, but Lapis ignored the rhetorical tone and responded.

“Ready.”

The bay doors opened to the familiar woods that surrounded the ship, destruction from last night’s battle still scarred the trees. Once their feet hit the solid ground, the door closed, and their ship proceeded to take flight. It was a medium-sized ship, and definitely noticeable but not completely obvious, like a Diamond vessel. Most humans would brush it off as a weird plane. The problem wasn’t humans though, it was the risk that a Crystal gem would see it.

Once the ship flew out of sight, it was Lapis and Jasper’s time to head towards the nearest warp pad. The watery gem sprouted her wings, and the orange gem prepared to speed over as fast as she could. It would take them both about an hour to cover the distance, and sadly, there wasn't a faster way to get there.

Lapis took flight and began to watch the evergreen trees grow smaller below her. The forest almost hid Jasper, the only thing that showed her path were the trees that shook around her. Lapis mindlessly followed the trail that the soldier left. She let herself get lost in her thoughts, and before she knew it, they arrived at the warp pad. It was located right outside a little fishing town, in which Lapis came regularly to trade things for Stevens necessities.

It was at this moment that Lapis realized she probably wouldn’t go back to this cottage-filled village ever again. It was slightly bittersweet to Lapis.

Jasper seemed to have no connection to the village, as she summoned her weapon, and took a confident step onto the warp pad. Lapis went to follow her but was stopped before she could step onto the pad.

“Turn your weapon on,” Jasper ordered.

Lapis did as was told, but was a bit confused as to why she was forced to do it before stepping onto the warp pad. Though, once the teleportation device sent them to the location, she realized why.

They were standing in the rebel’s unfinished home, right by a half-done kitchen and stairs that led to nowhere. The roof above their head showed the soft early morning sky through broken beams.

It had changed a bit since Lapis last saw it, now all the wood seemed decrypted and worn out. Cobwebs dotted the area around them, and it made Lapis wonder if they still lived here. Yet her eyes glanced at the door that had everyone’s gem on it, and it proved that they all still used this as their base.

Jasper quietly stepped off the warp pad and tested the wooden floors, making sure they didn’t creak or break entirely. When she deemed it to be okay, she motioned that it was okay for Lapis to step off as well. She finally whispered to Lapis the game plan, “You are going to stand guard for me; don’t let anyone get near me. I am going to break this warp with my hammer, and the moment I do, we run. Got it?”

“Got it,” Lapis said as she guarded Jasper, her weapon humming in her hand, almost as if it was itching for a fight. She kept her eyes both on the entrance and on the magical door.

Jasper cracked her neck and prepared herself as she aimed her helmet. She always had to physically prepare herself when she used her war-hammer since she didn’t exactly have a painless weapon. She raised her head and then let it fall with an ear-splitting crash. The warp pad began to split, but it wasn’t good enough.

She raised her head again, getting ready to strike down on the machine once more, but this time the magical doors flew open, and the Fusion stepped out from behind them.

Lapis jumped in between Jasper and the Fusion. She raised up her destabilizer, which sparkled with electricity, “Step away from her, or you’ll regret it.”

“You again?” The magenta gem scoffed, “We should have bubbled you when we had the chance,” She materialized her armored gloves. She was about to put them to use, but never got the chance because a loud crack echoed through the wooden halls.

The Fusion looked over to see the warp pad demolished, and a smirking Jasper standing above the rubble.

“What did you do!” Her voice sounded like thunder, anger seeping with every word. Garnet's yelling must have alerted the others, cause both of the other gems stepped out to investigate. Each seemed confused as too what was going on; until they saw Jasper and Lapis running out the door to make their great escape.

Jasper had pulled Lapis away from the fight and dragged her to the beach. Lapis found herself searching for an escape route, but there was none they could both use, or at least, none that would get them out of there in time.

“What do we do?” the blue gem asked, looking towards the seasoned warrior for a plan.

“You, get out of here while you can. I will stay and fight them,” Jasper said as she prepared her fighting stance.

“You can’t fight them alone!”

“Yes, I can!”

“You couldn’t last time!”

“Well, it does Steven no good if both of us get shattered!” Jasper yelled out before continuing, “So leave while you have the chance.”

Lapis looked at the sky, which offered her an escape and then to the gems running at them from across the beach. Her choice seemed easy.

She got beside Jasper and handed her the destabilizer, “ I won’t need this,”

She closed her eyes and made the ocean beside them rise until it was the size of a two-story building, and with a flick her hand sent it crashing down on the invading gems. The water dragged them towards a nearby town, and it gave Lapis a little time to think of a plan.

“Alright, we have some more time,” She let wings form on her back and turned to Jasper, “Hold onto me.”

Jasper nodded and grabbed onto Lapis’s hands. The blue gem lifted up into the air in an attempt to make a quick exit. Her escape was cut short, though, because she felt something sharp wrap around her leg.

“You’re not getting away that easy,” The tiny Amethyst said, before pulling her closer.  Lapis knew she couldn’t do anything without dropping Jasper.  She tried to pull her foot away, but that just caused the spikes of the whip to dig deeper into her skin. 

“No no no,” Lapis muttered as she tried her hardest to fly away from the whips grasp. She felt Jasper trying to unwrap the weapon from her foot, but it was too difficult to do one-handed.

“Throw me at her,” Jasper said to Lapis. She responded with a confused look, but honestly, this wasn’t the time to question her strategy. 

She used all her upper body strength to throw the towering gem towards the smaller one. Jasper aimed her helmet and came crashing down onto the Amethyst. The gem got knocked back a bit, which set Lapis free.

Jasper immediately became surrounded by the three rebel gems, and Lapis couldn’t just stare and watch. She pulled more water from the sea and formed it into watery clones of the Crystal Gems. She knew that this would catch their attention, and maybe it would give Jasper a chance to run away. This definitely distracted the opposing gems, and Lapis saw Jasper smile at her as she backed away.

Lapis swooped down and grabbed Jasper while the crystal gems fought their liquidy assailants. She managed to successfully fly away this time. The blue gem enjoyed the sweet feeling of her water wings in the breeze and savored the fact that they managed to complete their mission. The most satisfying part, though, was hearing the Crystal Gems squabble about how they got away again.

They flew in silence till they found a small clear in the woods, about a hundred miles away from the Crystal Gems.

“Are you sure they won’t find us here?” Lapis asked as she shook out her arms, she wasn’t used to carrying someone for so long, especially someone so much bigger than her.

“Ya, they would have to search too much ground,” Jasper took a moment to collect herself, she finally took in the surroundings around her, in an effort to get a bearing of their location, “There should be a warp about 5 miles away from us. That can help us get a bit closer to Peridots landing point.”

Lapis looked around as they walked to the warp pad. The woods around them seemed to be brighter than the Canadian forest they were used too, with trees that had white speckled bark. Wildflowers were thriving around them, and dandelions seemed to surround the path they were taking. Even the grass seemed to have a brighter tone as if to complement the yellow leaves. Leaves scattered the ground, and both the gems could hear them crunch beneath their feet.

Then Lapis spoke up, filling the silence with words that had been on the edge of her lips since the mission started.

“I came cause I didn’t want you to think I was weak,”

“What?” Jasper didn’t know where this random comment came from. She didn’t know what Lapis was even referring too.

“You asked earlier, why I agreed to go on the mission, and it was to prove myself to you, okay?”

“You don’t have to prove yourself to me,”

“But I do,” Lapis said, “You always talk about weak gems and how they are worthless. Then the first time I see a rebel, I freeze. I am like those gems you always talk about, and I couldn’t have you thinking of me like that.”

“I never thought of you like that.”

“Then what did you think of me?”

Jasper stayed silent after that question. What did she think of Lapis? The word weak never crossed her mind, but she did find she didn’t trust the gem to be confrontational. An assumption she now wishes she never made. Though, she still didn’t think of her as weak. She saw how the blue gem studied in order to teach Steven, and how she worked so hard to keep peace in the house, which wasn’t easy since she and Peridot always clashed. These tasks weren’t easy by any means. She had to think of the word she associated with Lapis, but one thing was for sure, that word wasn’t weak.

“I think you were pretty strong today,” Jasper finally said, giving Lapis a small grin as she did so. It wasn’t just the smirk that Jasper usually gave, but a genuine smile.

The blue gem gave Jasper a grin in return, but it was half-hearted. Jasper figured that was all she was going to get for now, and settled for the small smile. Hopefully one day she could convince Lapis that she didn’t see her like that.

They both let out sighs of relief when they saw the warp pad. It would only cut a few hours off of their journey, but right now they were both exhausted, and any bit closer they got to home was an accomplishment for them.

They both stepped onto the pad and were warped a little closer to the new location of their home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I hope you liked this chapter, and are excited for the next one. I really liked this chapter and it was really fun to write, but I might be biased because I am a sucker for some good character moments.


	9. The Story of a Diamond

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven asks Peridot to tell him the story of his mother.

Peridot watched as Lapis and Jasper ran off to find the warp pad. She punched in coordinates to the ship’s new location and soon found herself mulling over the flight route.

_“They might see us there,”_

_“Humans might get too suspicious here,”_

_“What if..”_

She got lost in her own thoughts as she adjusted the ship’s route every so often. Yes, it added time, but she found it to be the safest course of action. She tapped something on her translucent screen before a pair of hands waved in front of her face, breaking her concentration. 

“Peridot, I’m bored,” Steven said as he looked to her with puppy dog eyes. Sadly for him, those eyes only worked with Lapis, occasionally Jasper. Peridot had found herself immune to this form of bartering.

“Go study,” Peridot said as she tried to return her focus on the screen. It wouldn’t have killed her to focus on something else, but she couldn’t risk it. Her brain just wouldn’t let her risk it.

“I have already studied everything,” Steven complained.

“Alright, then tell me the historic speech White Diamond gave after conquering the planet formerly known as Katolis?”

Steven cleared his throat and prepared himself, “Its times like this where I truly appreciate the gems under me. I know that we lost many gems due to the dangerous environment that once plagued this land, but we now can properly claim this planet to the Diamond Authority. Proving yet another victory…”

“Alright,” Peridot stopped him. She had remembered that speech and didn’t need to hear it again, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t impressed that Steven had it memorized, “You clearly studied.”

“I know,” Steven said with a bit of pride behind his voice, “So can we do something fun now?”

“What do you want to do?” The kindergartener asked, eyes now away from the screen.

“Tell me a story!”

“What story?”

“Tell the story of my Mom.” 

Peridot gave him a quizzical look, “You already know the story of your Mom,”

Steven nodded, “But I want to hear it again,” He took a pause, almost as if he was worried he said the wrong thing, “Is that okay?”

“It’s of no matter to me,” Peridot thought for a moment, thinking of where she wanted to begin the story.

❖❖❖

Pink Diamond was the youngest of the Diamond Authority. She was known for her amazing healing powers as well for her incredible powers of destruction. After much anticipation, she finally got her first planet about 6,000 years ago.

A beautiful green and blue planet, known as Earth.

She came to earth with big plans. She even created one of the most successful kindergartens in Homeworld’s history. She was a magnificent ruler and was actually one of the most lenient Diamonds.

Sadly, a few rogue gems didn’t see it that way. A Rose Quartz created a rebel group known as the Crystal Gems and said that they fought to free the earth. They gathered and recruited unsuspecting gems, filling them with propaganda. They started to terrorize the new colony, poofing innocent gems and causing fear to spread through the planet. Soon the world was at war, and the brand new Diamond struggled to keep up with it all.

She tried her hardest to fight against the rebels. She personally helped coordinate her armies, and even hand-picked the gems that would lead the fights. Yet it wasn’t enough, because one night the rebels did something that would change the course of Homeworld history.

Rose Quartz snuck into Pink Diamonds palanquin and shattered her… or at least that’s what they made it look like.

In actuality, they staged the whole thing. They wanted to end the war, but obviously, no Rose Quartz could shatter a diamond, so they settled on faking it.

They came during the dead of night, and the Diamond tried to reason with them. She tried to give them peace deals, but it was no use. The Rebels couldn’t be reasoned with and poofed her. They ran away, leaving fake shards where Pink Diamond once stood.

This ended the fighting, and the Crystal Gems were victorious. Though the Diamonds, wrought with grief, decided to stage one last attack on the rebels.  Making sure they couldn’t take the fight off-world, and making them go through the pain they thought Pink Diamond had gone through. They used their powers to corrupt the Crystal Gem forces and, sadly, sacrificed some of their own.

Then there was a period of silence for millennia until Yellow took a closer look at her sister’s shards. She noticed that these shards were fake, and began to piece together what really happened. Little did she know that around this time, Pink Diamond had devised a plan to get out of the prison the Crystal Gems put her in. She would use seduce a human man and change her form permanently. This would force the Crystal Gems to honor their code to save all human life, which she would soon be. She made sure to leave clues so that her future child would know to run away and find his way back to Homeworld.

Luckily for the child, Yellow Diamond had sent an elite task force to rescue her lost sister. They were a bit surprised to find a child, but they still completed their mission to rescue the lost Diamond. Now, this elite task force has to raise the child to become a proper Diamond, in which he shows great results and seems very promising.

And this would have never been possible if Pink Diamond hadn’t had the superior idea to use the Crystal Gems code against them. If she hadn’t fought to free herself after all those years she had been kept captive.

❖❖❖

Steven smiled as he heard stories of his mom, but it soon turned to a frown, “Do you think that Yellow will ever tell me about Mom? Like how she acted, and what she was like?”

Peridot tried to hide her reaction because she realized that those kinds of stories are what Steven truly longed for. Yet he wouldn’t be able to get those tales from them, because none of them had ever met Pink Diamond.

"I’m sure she will,” Peridot said before pulling Steven into a hug. The truth was Yellow Diamond wasn’t the talkative type, and she didn’t know if she would tell Steven about her lost sister, “Now, how about you tell me a story?”

Steven’s eyes lit up with excitement. He proceeded to tell an overdramatic tale of crying breakfast foods. While it was a dumb concept, Peridot couldn’t help but smile. She found Steven so interesting, and creative. Traits she wished she could replicate but knew she never could. She would have to vicariously live through Steven until they got back to Homeworld, where she would be shipped off to another assignment.

But she didn’t want to think about that; she wanted to enjoy this while it lasted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to post this chapter early and still, give you a chapter on Friday. So I guess this is like a bonus chapter. It's really short and no more than a five-minute read. I would just feel really bad if you guys had to wait till Friday for a thousand-word chapter. So ya, enjoy this little bonus chapter.


	10. Steven's Day Off

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven tries to make the best of his day off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like townie episodes then you will like this, and if you hated townie episodes... well at least this chapter has Uma.

Steven and Lapis spent breakfast in the control room, looking out the window and into the ocean around them. Making sure to point out whenever they saw a glowing fish or a giant squid. Steven was having one of his favorites, toast with jam. Lapis just sat with him and enjoyed his company, she didn’t really understand eating. The whole crew had tried it for a while, but it never stuck with any of them.

Steven then spoke up to Lapis, “What’s the class schedule for today?” He proceeded to bite into another piece of strawberry toast while he waited for an answer.

“Actually, the others and I decided you had a busy enough week. One day off from studying wouldn’t kill you,” Lapis gave him a smile, “So today you get to enjoy the day off.”

Steven’s eyes lit up; a day without pop quizzes or memorization. A day where he could do whatever he wanted! He thought maybe he could finally finish that game Lapis got him, or maybe he could convince the gems to play capture the flag, like what he saw on Camp Pining Hearts. Then at the end of the day, he could play Uma with the gems. 

“ I have so many ideas for fun things we can do together,” Steven said as he bounced up and down in his seat. He was about to tell Lapis all his plans when she looked at the time on one of the control panels.

“Oh, Steven, I am so sorry, but I need to go,” She announced as she got up to leave.

Steven was a bit confused as to why Lapis had to leave until he remembered it was grocery day. He knew Lapis was the only one who could get groceries since she was the only one who could catch fish to trade. The other gems also decided that, since they lived in the ocean, Lapis, being the only one who could control water, was the only one that would consistently leave the ship.

“Wait, Lapis, when will you get back?” Steven asked, hoping maybe he could wait and play Uma with her later. 

“I will probably be a bit longer than usual,” She tried to add up the time in her head, “It will take me about thirty minutes to get to land, another fifteen to fish, and then I don’t even know how long it will take me to find an area that is willing to trade with me.”

Steven sighed, but forced himself to perk up. There were still two other gems on this ship that he could spend the day with, and he could still have fun even with Lapis gone. This wouldn't stop him from having a great day off.

He walked with Lapis as she made her way to the bay doors, “Anything you want?” She asked.

“Can you get pancake mixings?” Steven said, excited at the thought of having his favorite breakfast food, “And icecream!’

“I will get it if they have it,” Lapis said before leaving the ship. Shifting the water around her in order to reach the surface.

Steven then made his way to his room, to plan out the best day ever. He grabbed some paper and a pencil and began to write down some ideas.

  * _Play video games with Peridot_
  * _Play Checkers with Jasper_
  * _Build a Pillow Fort_
  * _Play Uma with all the Gems_



Steven looked at his list, and figured this was pretty good; definitely, enough to fill a day. He carefully folded his list and went to the first gem on it. He figured he would find Peridot in her room logging statistics or something.

He hummed as he made his way to the green gems room, and he was surprised to find her angrily grumbling at some parts. Mechanical bits and bobs laid scattered around her room. Her hands seemed to be searching through a pile of junkyard scrap.

“I swear I saw it before,” Peridot muttered before pulling out a very unique looking cog, “Here it is!” 

She ran over to place the part into what seemed to be a small robonoid looking creature. She watched as the creature slowly came to life. Its limbs shook as it tried to stand up.

“Yes, it’s alive!” Peridot said, but she seemed to jinx it cause the robot proceeded to explode. The gem watched as her creation went up in flames, her limb enhancers grabbing at the smoke, “No no no!” 

Steven gave a fake little cough so that Peridot would know he was standing at the door. The gem proceeded to turn and notice that the small boy was standing in her doorway.

“Steven, how are you enjoying your day off?” Her voice seemed to bite back despair, and she tried to, not so subtly, put out the flame she made.

“It’s fine,” Steven said, “I was about to ask you if you wanted to play some video games with me.”

Peridot seemed to be in deep thought about the offer, but finally turned to her failed creation with a sigh, “Sorry, Steven, but I should probably work on this. Maybe later?” 

Steven’s head dropped when he heard her say that. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his list, scribbling out his first activity because that was a bust. He then told himself that it was okay because he still had three other activities he could do.

He made his way to the training room, Jasper couldn’t be busy with anything right? All she ever did was train, and Steven knew he could convince her to take a break from that. He then entered the room and saw that she wasn’t there.

He was a bit confused as to where she was and decided to check her room, which Jasper didn’t seem to stay in frequently. He ran to her room to find her reading some comic books, which he had never seen her show interest in. An older issue of the Wonderous Spider-Person was in her hands and she seemed to delicately turn the paper pages.

“Watcha doing Jasper?” Steven asked.

Jasper nearly jumped out of her skin and let out a small yelp. She instinctively hid the paper book underneath her bed, “Nothing.”

Steven gave her a smirk to show her that he saw the whole thing, which caused the bigger gem sighed as she pulled out the comic she had been reading and showed it to Steven.

“Jasper, I didn’t know you read comics,” Steven said as he studied the cover of the book in her hand. It showed Spider-Person hanging perilously from a flying helicopter, and Steven made a note to read this issue after Jasper. 

"Shh!” Jasper put a finger over her mouth and looked around to make sure no one heard, “The others can’t find out.”

“Why not?” 

Jasper just took a look at her comic book and then at Steven, “I don’t want the others to think I’m some nerd. I want them to see me as tough, and reading comic books doesn’t help that image.”

“Don’t you always make fun of Peridot for watching Camp Pining Hearts?” Steven asked.

“That’s because that show is dumb, and it only wants to talk about relationships,” She said the last word with a particular disgust, “Comic books have all this fighting, and everyone is so powerful!”

Steven gave a giggle as he realized Jasper wasn’t all tough and training focused, “You really are a geek, just like the rest of us.”

Jasper grumbled something and seemed to hide her face behind her comic book, “ Just don’t tell Peridot, she will never let me live this down.”

“My lips are sealed,” Steven said as he pretended to zip up his mouth. He then looked at the pile of comic books that were tucked under her bed, “So… you got a lot of reading to do.”

“Ya,” Jasper commented as she flipped a page, “I haven’t had a lot of time to read lately, but since you have the day off, I also get a break. I just decided to spend the day catching up.”

Steven gave a nod before he tried to make an exit, “Well, I will just leave you too it then.”

Just as Steven was about to leave, he heard Jasper ask him a question, “Why did you come to find me again? Did you need anything?”

Steven awkwardly chuckled it off, “Oh, it was nothing. Enjoy the rest of your day, and go catch up on your comic books,”

He made sure he was out of her eyesight before taking out his small piece of paper, scribbling out his plans with Jasper. He didn’t want to ruin her fun by asking her to play something like checkers. He would admit that this did put a damper on his mood, but no worries. He could find his own fun, cause he was going to make his first pillow fort. He had seen it in one of the old movies he had, and it didn't look that hard.

He went to his room and developed his fort making strategy. He grabbed all his pillows and blankets and decided to make the pillows part of the flooring. The next thing to do was try to solve the problem of how to keep the blankets in the air. The chairs he grabbed from the kitchen didn’t leave him with much room, so he chucked out that idea. 

He was questioning his architecture and thought about how Peridot would know what to do. Maybe he should ask her?

“No,” He chided himself, “Peridot is busy, so you have to figure this out yourself. Besides, I am a Diamond, how hard can building a pillow fort be?”

Turns out, it was pretty hard because his pillow fort turned into more of a pillow blob. He tried to think back on the movie he saw, and how their pillow fort looked more like an expansive, fluffy empire. He flopped onto his pile of pillows and blankets, looking up at the ceiling. His day off was starting to look like a complete bust. He finally accepted that today was a failure, and began to think.

He found the blank ceiling above him soothing, almost as if it beckoned him to contemplate his life. He thought about how soon he would be an official Diamond and expected to run entire colonies, yet he couldn’t build a pillow fort. He was expected to do so many great things, yet it seemed that most kids his age were busy worrying about saving a summer camp; He had to bring back the glory days of a whole empire. It was so much.

Sometimes, he wondered if he was ever meant to just be a kid.

He felt like he had so much to do, yet he couldn’t think of a single action that would get him any closer to his goals, so he kept staring at the ceiling. He let his eyes slowly get heavier until he found himself asleep.

He awoke after a while to Peridot standing over him, “What are you doing?”

He blinked a few times before taking in the tall gems question, “Oh, uh… Napping, I guess.” 

Peridot looked at the mess of blankets and pillows around him, “Why are these things all over the floor?”

“I was trying to make a pillow fort, but I couldn’t figure out a way to make a ceiling out of the blankets,” Steven said as he rubbed his eyes, a futile effort to wake himself up.

Peridot looked at the mess for a few moments. She grabbed the blanket and then made a bubble in one hand, “How about you do this?”

She let the bubble rise to an optimal height, and watched as it kept the blanket hovered in the air.

Steven put his hands on his face and let them drag down on his cheeks, “Why didn’t I think of that?”

“Uhh... cause you were sleeping?” Peridot asked, her voice seemed unsure if that was the correct answer to his question.

Steven took a long sigh and begrudgingly started throwing pillows back onto his bed, “Ya, I guess that didn’t help.”

“Why do you seem so down?” The green gem watched as a groggy Steven shuffled back and forth from his cuddly stronghold attempt to his bed, trying to set it up again.

“Guess my day off just didn’t go as I planned,” Steven tried to laugh it off, but the triangle-shaped figure in front of him could tell how understated that statement was.

“How so?” She pestered, determined that by the end of this conversation, her favorite half-gem would brighten up.

“Everyone was busy, and I just couldn’t find anything to do,” Steven shook his head as if he was disappointed in himself, “Its really nothing.”

“Well, Lapis just got back from the market, so if there is something you want us all to do together-” She was then cut off my Steven’s eyes lighting up and his hands appearing on her cheeks.

“Can we play ummmmaa?” He dragged out his words in an excited plea, and his tired face grew into a smile. 

“Sure, I don’t see why not,” Peridot told him and watched as he went to his chest of things and pulled out a blue box that held his favorite card game.

He then soon ran into the kitchen where Jasper seemed to be discussing with Lapis the benefits of sleep. She seemed very intrigued.

“You just lie in bed… for eight hours?”

“Ya, or however long you want to lie there,” The orange woman seemed to talk like it was a crazy concept. She soon noticed the small boy running into the kitchen, a big smile on his face. The white deck of cards in his hand.

“Who wants to play Uma?” He asked as he raised the deck of cards for all to see.

Lapis narrowed her eyes on the deck and looked around the room at her crewmates, soon to be enemies. She let out a light chuckle before accepting the challenge, “You guys are all going down.”

“You wish,” Jasper added before pulling up a chair at the table.

Steven quickly shuffled the deck and handed out the cards. They played a few rounds and had many good laughs, including the time that Jasper so confidently called ‘Uma!’ when she placed down the wrong card. Lapis teased her about that one for the whole game.

“Double check, make sure that’s a six you’re putting down,” She would joke.

“I confused six and nine one time!” Jasper rebutted, but it was no use. The crew wasn’t going to let her live it down.

After about five games, Steven ate his dinner, and headed to bed for the night, but not before putting a little checkmark beside the last item on his list. He went to sleep easily knowing that his one day off wasn’t a total failure. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Steven is very relatable in this chapter. Haven't we all failed at building a pillow fort and then stared at the ceiling for an hour? Also, you guys keep posting your thoughts and theories, and I REALLY wanna reply to them, but I have to stop myself cause, knowing me, I would spoil something. Though they are soooo fun to read!


	11. Steven's Report

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven finally gets to attend a monthly report.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will still be on Haitus for probably another two weeks. I just managed to write this chapter and I figure I would give it to you now. Thank you all for the support during the break, you probably don't realize how much it helps. Also, this chapter is a bit shorter but I couldn't really stretch it out much. :/

Yellow Diamond appeared on the line and noticed something different about her screen. She spotted the short, curly-haired boy alongside Peridot. She couldn’t help but turn her face into a small grimace once she noticed him. 

Steven took note of the face Yellow made. He forced himself to stand more upright as he waited for Peridot to start her speech. He started to worry about his hair, or maybe it was his shirt. He had picked out his favorite sunset pink button-up, but what if Yellow hated it.

The green gem let her hands form into the classic diamond shape, “Hello, my Diamond-” She was cut off but the authority figure on the other line.

“Why are they here?” Yellow Diamond asked, her finger pointed at the young boy who instinctively moved closer to the corner of the room. He felt some sweat form along his brow, and his skin itched with an unexplained nervousness. He tried to remember what Peridot told him before the meeting, that he was just as much a Diamond as Yellow. He might not look like it, but he was Diamond, and he deserved the respect of one.

“He requested to join us, and who am I to deny the request of a Diamond,” Peridot stated, her tone bordered on being commanding and she put extra power in the word Diamond.

Yellow let her eyes form into small slits and gave Steven a glare, before waving her hand and letting Peridot continue. The smaller gem brought up a graph with her limb enhancers. The graph showed a small rise in Steven’s athletic skills and powers, but his gem studies and Diamond training had begun to grow stagnant, mostly due to the whole Crystal Gem situation.

Yellow took note of this, “Why isn’t he growing in his studies?”

Peridot let out a weak and nervous cough when Yellow Diamond asked her about it, “We had a little bit of a run-in with the rebels, and it set us back by a week and a half,”

“What do you mean, run-in?”  Her voice was a dagger, its blade threatened Peridot through the screen. It held its sharp tip to her throat and told her to watch her words.

“They located our ship, and we had to move,” Peridot stated and she could see the anger forming in Yellow Diamond’s eyes. The golden pools seemed to have a fire behind them as Yellow began to berate her.

“I can’t believe you put Pink at risk! How did they even track down your ship? How could you be so stupid?” Yellow yelled, her voice shaking the room.

“I am so sorry my Diamond, it won’t ever happen again,” Peridot’s hands formed back into a salute and she let her head hang low as if to avoid Yellow Diamond’s eyes.  She had a solemn look on her face, but she didn't care. She knew that she couldn't have done anything to change the situation.

At least, that's what she told herself as Yellow Diamond continued. 

“It better not because if anything happens to Pink before you get to Homeworld, then your gem will pay the price,” Yellow let her hand form a fist in order to make a point.

The green gems eyes went wide as she heard this. She had always followed the rules and done her best, just to please her Diamond. Now here she was, threatening to end her life.

Steven let out a small gasp when he heard Yellow Diamond make this threat, “You can’t do that! You can't shatter her!” 

The large gem’s head snapped towards Steven’s direction. Her voice formed into a sword once more, threatening to attack through the screen, “Pink! You should know that you have no power over what goes on with gems under my rule. So while you may live with this gem, and while this gem may teach you. She is my gem...” She let the room linger in silence before she finished, “And you have no say in what happens to her.”

“But-” Steven began but was stopped by Yellow.

“Pink this is not up for discussion,” The gem was firm with her words. She let it end right then and there before turning back to Peridot, “Did anything else happen that I should know about?”

Peridot shook her head, “No, my Diamond,”

“Then leave,” Peridot began to leave, head still hanging down, and Steven went to follow her, but Yellow stopped him, “Not you, Pink.”

Peridot gave Steven a look, her eyes asked him if he would be okay, and Steven gave her a nod. Peridot accepted the answer and walked out of the report room. Steven was now left alone with Yellow.

He waited for her to speak, but there was silence. He wondered if she expected him to speak, but he didn’t know what to say. They just looked at each other, and Yellow seemed to study him. Reading his expression, his form, and his reaction, as if he was a book.

Her metallic eyes seemed to soften as she looked him up and down. She finally decided to break the smothering silence, “ Do you remember anything?”

“What do you mean?” Steven asked, but he knew. He knew she wanted him to have the memories of his mother. He couldn’t blame her for asking, because it would make things much easier if he did. He would be lying if he said there weren’t nights when he laid in bed trying so hard to access those memories. Sometimes he felt like he was so close to them like they were in a locked box somewhere in his brain. 

He always felt like he was so close to the key, yet he could never reach it. It was frustrating because there was so much he wanted to know but knew he would never remember.

“Pink, do you remember that time on Quedu,” She asked, “You were so amazed by the Alpha kindergarten, and you begged me to teach you how it worked. I spent way too long teaching you about injectors,” She gave a small chuckle at the memory and then looked to Steven, waiting for an answer. 

“I don’t remember that,” Steven said as he looked towards the ground. He felt like he was betraying Yellow with this fact, and it hurt him. He always seemed to make this hard situation harder.

“I didn’t think you would…” Yellow said, “But its probably better that you don’t remember anything.”

“Why would it better?” Steven said with a small scoff. He couldn’t think of a reason why not having Pink’s memories would be helpful. 

“You…” She stopped herself and thought about her words, “You just get to have a fresh start, and you get to be an even better Diamond than before.”

Steven didn’t know what to say too this, but it turns out he didn’t have to respond because Yellow dismissed him. Her soft voice escaped her as she returned to her stern tone.

“Catch up on your studies, because I want to see at least a 70% increase,” She mentioned as Steven walked out.

He saw Peridot waiting for him down the hall, and the moment she saw him she ran to see what happened, “Are you okay? What did she say? I am so sorry, I should never have suggested you attend,”

Steven just gave Peridot a hug, “I’m fine, she just asked me if I remembered anything about my mother.”

Peridot’s worry escaped her face, “Oh… that’s interesting.”

“Are you okay?”

“Why wouldn’t I be okay?” Peridot asked. She assumed this was about her worrying over Steven. She admitted that she probably was overdramatic, because what could Yellow really do to him? Though Steven’s answer to her question left her in a bit of shock.

“She threatened to shatter you,” Steven said, “That’s not okay.”

Peridot put a limb enhancer on Steven’s shoulder, “Steven, sometimes Diamonds have to put their foot down. This is just how life works. Besides, I know nothing will happen to you because no one on this ship will let anything happen to you.”

“Ya,” Steven gave a nod, “What are the chances of anything happening anyway?”

What are the chances?


	12. The Lion in the Room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A surprise visitor makes his way onto the ship one night. Hijinks ensue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Half this chapter is a meme, so sorry but not sorry.

Jasper walked into the kitchen, with a grimace on her face, "Steven, why are you up this laatteee..." Her sentence drew out when she saw the massive pink lion in their kitchen.

Steven popped out from behind the massive beast and gave the orange gem a smile, "Hey Jasper!"

Jasper didn't know how to react to the situation. She couldn't wrap her head around how the lion got into the ship, because there were multiple reasons he should not be here. She also noticed how gentle and friendly he was with Steven, so that in itself was quite odd. 

"Steven... what is going on?" Jasper asked as she walked slowly towards the wild animal. She calculated all her movements, making sure not to be too sudden with any of them.

"I don't know," He said as he climbed onto the pink anomaly's back, " I just assumed one of you guys brought him. You know like the squirrel-"

"We said we would never talk about that again," Jasper said quickly. She didn't want to think about that whole situation right now.

"Oh right," Steven pretended to seal his lips before continuing to answer Jasper's question, " Anyway, I just thought that you guys brought him in."

Jasper shook her head, "We definitely didn't bring this thing in."

The lion began to roll around and lightly bat his paws at Steven, trying to get his attention. If it wasn't for his size, color, and fuzzy mane, you would think he was just a normal housecat.

Steven looked at his new friend suspiciously and then back to Jasper, "Well then, why is he here?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out Steven," She kept thinking about how this lion was pink; but was there any chance that this lion could have something to do with his mother? There was no way... right?

Jasper was about to check the ships hatch when the lion decided to start rummaging through the kitchen cabinets. He used his nose to open the wooden doors, and bowls started to clank and crash. Jasper winced a bit when a plate went clanging onto the floor, now the whole ship would be up.

Steven tried to pull the animal away from the cabinets, "Lion, don't destroy our plates. I need those,"

The moment Steven mentioned that he needed the silverware intact, Lion stopped, but the true damage had been done. Steven could hear Peridots metal boots coming down the hallway. Steven knew this was about to get a bit more interesting.

Peridot's hair was slightly messy, and she rubbed the space between her eyes brows as she walked into the room. She seemed about to say something when her eyes went wide. Her jaw hung open as she watched the pink monster play with the kitchen faucet.

"What the heck is that!" Peridot screeched as she readied her laser. The green ball of energy formed at her fingertips, but Steven jumped in front of her. 

"Wait! He is friendly," Steven said, and Peridot managed to put down her laser. She gave the huge creature a glare, but it responded with a slight tilt of the head, and Peridot could tell that it really didn't understand her passive-aggressiveness.

"Why is he here?" Peridot asked, her tone was a mix of distrust and curiosity. It was almost jarring hearing the two emotions collide. 

"That's what we are trying to figure out," Jasper said before she managed to get a look at the ships hatch. She could tell it hadn't been opened, but that made no sense; its the only way onto the ship. It isn't like the lion could have arrived through a window, so where did it come in?

"We can keep him, right?" Steven asked Peridot. He busted out his puppy dog eyes in a desperate attempt to convince her to let him stay.

"We aren't keeping that thing around," Peridot said, and the lion didn't like that answer because he rubbed his mane up against the green gem. It seemed like he wanted to stay as well.

"Come on! Lion clearly wants to stay too,"

"You named him!" Peridot started to walk back and forth. She moved her floating limb enhancers as she thought about what to do. It was too late at night for her to be thinking about these things, "I will just go grab Lapis, she can bring this thing to the surface,"

"Don't, she is asleep," Jasper said as she sat down at the kitchen table. She knew she wasn't the smartest gem, but her mind was breaking at trying to figure out how this lion got in.

"Then I'll wake her up," Peridot huffed but Jasper, again, stopped her.

"This is not a situation worth waking up for," Jasper sounded like she spoke from experience, "It's not like he is doing anything. He seems friendly enough,"

"Except for the fact that he can bite Steven's head off at any moment!" Peridot yelled and then took a deep breath. She tried to collect herself and think of the logical solutions. There had to be some, right?

"You know what," Peridot said as she put on a smile, "I'm going to use the escape pod to take him back to the surface!"

The kindergartener walked over to Lion and began tugging at his mane. The creature looked very annoyed at her and proceeded to nip at her arm. 

"No! Bad kitty!" Peridot yelled as she tried to get away from the beast. Her attempts were futile, though, because he stole one of her floating fingers and ran away with it.

"Get back here!" Peridot yelled as she chased after him. Steven was close behind her, cheering Lion on as he made his great escape.

"You can outrun her!" Steven yelled as he let them chase each other down the hallway.

The large cat ran through the halls of the ship. His claws clicked on the marble flooring, and he made his way to the training area. The door opened automatically, and he disappeared in the dimly lit room.

Peridot scurried in after him, desperate to get part of her limb enhancer back. She looked around the darkened room with the punching bags that lined the walls and other training equipment that allowed for plenty of places to hide.

She went to use her limb enhancer as a flashlight, but an error signal popped up due to her missing digit. She mentally cursed herself and tried to spot the Lion that was hiding in the room. She knew that a 500-pound pink animal shouldn't be that hard to find, but the lack of lighting made the task very challenging.

She began to look behind all the gear and flinched a little each time she looked behind a pile of weights. She held her breath as she slowly looked through everything; she felt like she was in a horror movie. She was that girl she and Steven would yell at to run away.

Then suddenly, in true horror movie fashion, the lion jumped out at her and pinned her to the ground. 

"Get off of me!" Peridot screeched as she tried to push the monster off of her. He was so heavy that it was no use, she wouldn't be able to move him on her own. She was in the middle of wrestling with Lion when the light turned on in the training room. Both Peridot and Lion looked up to see a tired and disgruntled Lapis.

She just gave a sigh at the giant pink lion in the room, "I should have just gone back to sleep."

"Are you gonna help me?" Peridot asked with exasperation. She tried to push the lion off of her one more time, but he simply sat on her and looked at the new blue gem. Curiosity filled his eyes as Lapis walked towards him.

He let her grab the green digit out of his mouth, "Looking for this?"

"Lapis..." The shorter gem let out a slight groan before grabbing her missing finger. She directed it back into place and smiled when it proved to work. She almost forgot Lapis was there until she heard a cough come from over her head.

"So, are you gonna tell me why there is a lion on our ship?"

" Yes, but first can you get this-"

"I will get the lion off you when you tell me what's going on?"

Peridot gave a long sigh, she forgot how annoying Lapis could be sometimes. Peridot told Lapis about how they just found the lion and how they were as confused as she was.

"Alright," Lapis then left the room. This made Peridot scream at her and call her a clod many times over. Lapis soon came back, with water she acquired from the sink, "Call down Drama Queen."

Lapis aimed the water at the big cat and then sprayed it all over him. He hissed and ran to the corner of the room. He looked at Lapis like she just committed the biggest betrayal he had ever felt.

Peridot sprang up after she was freed and then instantly ran behind Lapis, "Protect me from that monster!"

"He doesn't seem to be hurting anyone," Lapis pointed out, "But if he is truly scaring you,"

Lapis walked up to the creature, who seemed to distrust her. She ignored his glares and formed a bubble around him. Lion's eyes grew wide and tried to get out of his new prison, but that just made him roll around the training room.

"I will bring him to the surface in the morning," Lapis said before giving a half-hearted wave of her hand. Signaling to Peridot that she was heading back to bed.

"That's all you're going to do?" Peridot asked as she followed her out of the training room and to Lapis' quarters. Lapis rolled her eyes so hard, you could have heard them.

"Yes, now let me sleep," Then the door closed in Peridot's face. She let out a huff before marching back to the kitchen, with Steven begging Jasper to let him keep Lion.

"He is so sweet! He wouldn't hurt a fly!" Steven begged.

"How would we feed him?" Jasper asked, which scared Peridot because her toned seemed to genuinely consider it rather than discourage the idea.

"We aren't keeping the lion," Peridot announced, "It is in no way safe, and we have nowhere to keep him."

"But what if-" Steven was about to make his rebuttal when Lion came rolling down the hallway. He was shaky and trying to make sense of his new ride, which caused him to crash into the kitchen table.

Peridot wasn't even surprised anymore, "This is what you get for putting a wild animal in a bubble," 

Jasper attempted to stop the giant bubble, but Lion had too much momentum. He knocked Jasper over and was rolling straight towards Steven, who instinctively put his shield up. He closed his eyes and readied for impact.

Once the bubble hit the bubble-gum colored shield it popped. Steven took a moment to realize he wasn't crushed by a Lion in a hamster ball. He smiled a little when he realized all that training he did with Jasper had finally been put to use, even if the situation was weird.

The big cat tapped the ground beneath him like he was scared it would magically shapeshift. He then looked up at Steven, who had unintentionally freed him, and licked his face. He left a long slobbery trail across Steven's cheek and pulled his hair into a cowlick. He seemed to be thanking Steven, or at least, that's what Steven assumed because he could hear him purring.

"Hey, it was nothing," Steven said as he let his fingers run through the cotton-candy mane. He all of a sudden felt a connection to Lion; One he hadn't noticed before. It was strong and tugged at him. It made him feel like he knew this animal his whole life. It felt like he had years of friendship with this creature, yet none of the memories.

Steven gave a look to his two teachers, "We have to keep him,"

Peridot turned on her lecture voice, "Steven we can't just-"

"There is something different about him, I can feel it." Steven was genuinely pleading with them. He didn't know why, but Lion was important, he could literally feel it in his gut. 

Peridot gave Jasper a look, asking if she was buying it. Jasper thought for a moment, then shrugged and told Steven, "As long as he doesn't become too big of a distraction, and you really think he is important, then I guess we have no reason-"

Both gems were brought into a bear hug by Steven, who ran to thank them. He was jumbling his thank you's all together before looking back at Lion, "Alright, let's get you set up. We can put you in one of the empty rooms."

With that, Steven ran off with his new companion. Peridot let their footsteps disappear down the hallway before turning to Jasper, "Do you really think this is a good idea?"

"Guess we will see," Jasper shrugged before heading back to her room. At this point, she just wanted to read a comic.

It had been a long night for everyone. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I am officially off Hiatus, so I will be going back to weekly uploads. Thank you all for the support I got when I decided to take a break. I wasn't expecting that much positivity, and it really meant a lot. That's all I really wanted to say, so I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I will see you guys next week.


	13. The Cave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lapis and Steven learn that Lion is more than just your average African mammal.

The Pink Lion walked by Lapis when she woke up in the morning. He gave her a stink eye, not forgetting her transgressions last night. He would never forget how betrayed he felt when she sprayed him with water.

"Why are you out of your bubble?" She asked as she gave her eyebrow a raise. She didn't expect an actual reply, but suddenly a voice came from the other side of the wild animal. 

"I got him out!" Steven said as he appeared behind Lapis. This caused her to nearly jump out of her gem. She hadn't been this startled by him since the weird quiet phase he had when he was six, those were eerie times. She caught her breath and turned to see Steven holding a cardboard box that was taller than him, and it was filled with pillows that seemed to be stolen from their couch. It's not like they needed those or anything.

Steven ignored Lapis' questioning looks at the items in his hand and proceeded to explain the event of last night. Lapis smiled a bit when he talked about Peridots reaction, of course, she would go crazy at the idea of them keeping a pet lion. Lapis also knew that Peridot had a weak spot for Stevens antics, and really couldn't say no to one of his crazy ideas. 

"Okay, but why do you have a massive cardboard box in your hands?" The blue gem managed to get her question in after Steven told his story.

"This is for Lion's bed," Steven gave his signature toothy grin as he went to go give Lion a pet. The large cat pushed the box out of his hands as he went to get a deeper pet from Steven.

"Whoah," Steven giggled as he watched the box fall to the floor, "You really want love, huh?" 

Lion quickly moved so that he was lifting Steven by his nose. Steven kept laughing as he was lifted into the air, legs swinging until he managed to tumbled himself onto Lions back. Then Lion just started to run full speed at the wall across the room. 

Lapis managed to think quick. She ran after Lion and grabbed his tail, "STOP!" 

Her screams were rendered almost silent when, what sounded almost like a warp, drowned out her voice. Instead of a wall, they were now heading right into a portal. She saw a blur of pink and then suddenly she was in a cave. A shallow layer of water surrounded her, the only thing that wasn't underwater was the island in the middle of the cave. Rocks hung from the ceiling, occasionally dripping water down to add to the shallow pool.

Lapis tried to find Steven and released a breath when she saw he was fine.

Steven looked around, a confused look plastered across his face. He looked to Lion for answers, but he walked nonchalantly towards the island. Steven ran after him, his feet dragging in the water.

Lapis followed, but her pace was slower as she tried to figure out where they were. She would have known if this was an old gem structure, but this place had never shown up on any maps.

She noticed that once Steven stepped on the platform, a button rose from the ground, almost as if sensing his presence. Steven looked at the button and then back to Lapis, who had made it to the stairs of the island.

"Don't touch it." Lapis knew what Steven was thinking and she wasn't going to let his push random buttons.

Steven gave a sad nod as he studied the button, it seemed to be old Diamond technology. He was sure he hand seen this handprint shaped fixture before, but what was it doing here? Did this mean this place had something to do with his Mom? He looked at Lapis one more time before going against her and pushing the button.

Lapis didn't even have time to scold Steven because weapons began to sprout around them. They sprung from the crystal floor like weeds. It was a vast collection of swords, axes, spears, and just about every other weapon you could think of. Some of Homeworld armories didn't have this vast a selection.

"Lapis look!" Steven said as he ran towards a towering mace. The spikes shined in the dimly lit cave and seemed to thirst for blood.

"Steven, don't touch these!" Lapis said as she flew over to him. She quickly grabbed the small boy and dragged him away from the sharp weaponry. 

Steven gave a huff as he let his feet drag on the ground, "Come on! Jasper taught me how to use like..." He took a moment to count the weapons, "Half of these."

"When did she do this!" Lapis shouted, echoes of her voice bouncing off the cave walls. She needed to talk with Jasper about getting her class syllabus preapproved.

"About three months ago," Steven said before his tone quickly changed, "Ya! Go, Lion, break the rules!"

Lapis looked up to see Lion with a giant pink sword in his jaws. It was so heavy that it dragged on the ground causing the metal to screech on the jewel floor.

The animal brought the weapon to Steven before placing it down in front of him. Steven looked that the sword with stars in his eyes, "Lapis, do you think he is trying to tell me something?"

"No," Lapis said as she went to go grab the sword and put it back, but Lion snapped as her hand got close to the blade. It was at this moment Lapis saw the similar hue that the Lion and the sword had. She took a look around the place and started to think maybe there was a reason Lion teleported them here.

She didn't have time to think about what that reason might be because she heard a high pitch call from the mouth of the cavern. Lapis grabbed Steven and hide with him behind a large stalagmite. She heard the sound of feet wading through water as she tried to see who entered the cave.

"I know someone is in here," called the voice. It ran familiar shivers down Lapis' spine and she soon realized who it was. She saw the pale white pearl from around the jutting piece of rock.

Her mind started to race again. Why was it always her? Any other gem she could handle, but the thought of her made her chest tighten. She couldn't think about that now, though, because she needed to focus on getting Steven out of here.

Lapis was so busy with her own thoughts, she forgot about the pink lion in the middle of the cave. The delicate gem soon found the creature and was reasonably perplexed, "Lions aren't even native to this region... also, why are you pink?"

Lion ignored their questions and instead walked towards where Steven and Lapis were hiding. Lapis felt her hands shaking as she prepared to morph the water around her.

"It will be fine," She mentally told herself, "You're in your element."

The sound of feet swishing in the shallow water came closer to where they were hiding, "Where are you taking me?"

Lapis was looking right into Pearl's eyes when she noticed the two figures crouching down behind the rock formation. It took her a second, but it soon clicked who the mysterious figures were. Her expression changed from shock to strangely and eerily motherly.

"Steven, you don't have to hide..." Pearl said, softening her voice. She sounded so weak and soft that Lapis would have laughed if she wasn't so terrified. It was jarring to hear a calming tone come from a gem that caused her so much pain. 

The watery gem raised her hand so that water wrapped around the snow-white legs of the rebel. They crawled up like dangerous vines, and once Pearl noticed Lapis made the water tighten around her legs.

"What are you doing! Steven, you can't trust her!" Pearl said as she tried desperately to get out of her liquid restraints. 

Lapis turned to Steven and grabbed him by the shoulders, the sternness in her voice seemed to mask the fear that rose in the back of her throat, "Steven, go make Lion take us back home,"

Steven nodded and made a run to a seemingly uncaring Lion. He began to bargain with the animal, trying desperately to ignore the pleas of Pearl.

"Steven, please, you have to listen to me! You were kidnapped by them! You're supposed to be with us!" Her voice got more piercing as she got more desperate, realizing that she had only seconds to make her case to Steven. 

Lapis got out from behind the stalagmite and stood face to face with this gem who caused her so much fear. Pearl noticed Lapis from the corner of her eye, and a point about her too Steven, " You're with an abandoned Lazuli! The gems that freed her, took her out of the mirror even though she was cracked! That's just sick..." Pearl went on trying to convince Steven.

Lapis felt something break inside of her as she heard Pearl try to justify why the Crystal Gems never let her out of that prison, it left a hole in her stomach. She conjured up a water staff with her free hand before she realized what had happened she had slammed the makeshift weapon across the face of the delicate gem.

Pearl stopped her speech and looked over to the now in shock Lapis. She gave a small growl, " I might not be able to fight you but they can,"

She closed her eyes, and suddenly a few dozen holograms of the gem surrounded Lapis, all with swords in hand. Lapis felt that fear rise in her chest again, her burst of confidence was gone as she felt her legs becoming weak. Her hands gripped her staff weakly as she tried to fight off the small army. 

She swung through the light blue figures like a batter in a batting cage. They were easy enough to take down, but the hard part was dodging each and every attack they made. Their swords attempted to slice through her like swiss cheese. They all seemed so hyper-focused as they studied how Lapis moved in order to plan their next strike. The blue gem would be lying if she said she didn't obtain a few scratches. 

"Steven, how is our ride coming along?" Lapis called out as she swung through a Pearl. She was pretty sure her muscles were on the verge of giving up because each swing made her lose feeling in her arms. 

"I've almost convinced him," Steven answered back, before going back to what seemed like serious bartering between the Lion and kid. 

Pearl realized that her time was running out and made one last desperate plea, "Rose, if you're in there... please stay. You can't just leave me... not again,"

Steven's ears seemed to perk up at the name, he almost turned to Pearl but forced himself to concentrate on Lion.

She is trying to trick you, he told himself, everything she says is a lie. Her words rang through his skull and left burning in his ears. He focused back to Lion, repeating in his head how he was a Diamond, and how he was smarter than her tricks.

He still couldn't get over why she kept calling him Rose, though.

Lapis made the watery vines crawl higher up Pearl. She made the liquid cover Pearl's mouth as she continued to fight against the training holograms. She felt all her worst nightmares coming true as she defeated the warriors one by one. Each time she watched on disintegrate, another appeared. Lapis was so overwhelmed that she almost gave up, but an excited voiced lifted her spirits.

"Lapis! Lion said he would take us home,"

This gave the terraformer enough strength to mow down at least ten holograms. She created a path towards Lion, before hopping onto the pink animals back.

"Quick! Go!" With that, the lion took off, creating a pink portal in front of himself. He jumped through, and before Lapis knew it, they were back in the ship's kitchen.

Jasper and Peridot seemed to be discussing something when they both stopped to look at the lion that had just portaled into their dining space. 

The two gems jaws could have reached the floor, considering how shocked they were. Lapis couldn't help, because she was just as shocked; she let everything that just happened sink in, and it made her head hurt. Steven seemed to be the only one that didn't have questions but instead answers.

"So, we figured out how Lion got onto the ship!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I said i came back from Hiatus and then immediately skipped a week because of my birthday. Sorry for the long wait but here is the chapter. Also if it seems off this chapter its because my Beta Reader was busy this week, but i didn't want you to wait any longer soooo ya. I hope you like it, also dang Lapis just can't catch a break, can she?


	14. A Training Session

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jasper is training Steven after his run-in with Pearl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I am doing a donation commission for the Black Lives Matter Movement. It's over on my Tumblr if you donate $10 or more to BLM then I will write you a 1k to 2k word fic. Here is the link to the post with all the rules and extra info Tumblr - https://quill-and-chalk.tumblr.com/post/622725655290904576

**That Morning**

  
"What happened? Peridot asked as Lapis shakily sat down on the couch. She stared down at her hands as she watched them shake. All her fear still lingered in her body, coursing through her veins. She was mentally fine, she knew she was safe now, but her body felt so drained. It felt like it was still in that flight or fight response.

Lapis took a deep breath before explaining what happened, "Lion created this portal and sent us to this cave. It had gem technology, but I had never seen it on any maps. Steven went up to this little island, and weapons appeared. He was trying to choose a weapon, but I told him no and then..."

She looked at Jasper, she debated for a few seconds on if she wanted to continue. If she wanted to risk showing Jasper yet another time when she was scared. She decided that Jasper might actually understand this time, "Then the Pearl came in..."

She was about to continue, when Jasper prevented her from speaking.

"Let's just do this later," Jasper said as she tried to put a comforting arm on Lapis' shoulder, "Give you some time to calm down, clear your head."

Lapis shrugged Jasper's hand off her shoulder, " I can talk about it now, Jasper. I'm fine."

Jasper scoffed at Lapis's words. She ignored them and proceeded to look at Peridot, "Let's take a pause on this. Lapis clearly can't handle this."

Lapis felt her anxiety leave her body as it was replaced with annoyance, "You don't need to speak for me. I can do that myself."

"Well, clearly you seeing Pearl is going to affect you," Jasper told her, "I am just saying you shouldn't stress yourself out because you ran away."

Lapis looked at Jasper with confusion, she thought Jasper understood. She for a moment, for a few fleeting seconds, believed Jasper didn't view her as useless. She realized Jasper still viewed her as that broken gem they found in the mirror. She looked up into Jasper's eyes, giving her a fiery glare, "I actually fought with Pearl. Steven ran to make an escape portal with Lion. So, ya, weak little Lazuli didn't run away this time."

Lazuli turned to make her way to her room, hearing Jasper follow her with multiple apologies spilling from her lips, "Lapis, I am sorry. I shouldn't have assumed. I just thought-" She was cut off by Lapis. 

"Just stop talking to me!" The blue gem yelled, "You know I thought that you might have gotten it, but you still just view me as useless."

"I don't think you're useless..." Jasper said, her tone leaking with hurt from the terraformer's words.

"Then start acting like it," Lapis said before slamming the door to her room. Jasper being left alone in the empty hallway of the ship.

**A Few Hours Later**

  
Jasper watched as Lapis looked away from her towering figure. She filled up the doorway, and it was clear that all of Lapis' energy was being poured into making sure that there was no eye contact. 

"I know that I am the last person you want to see..." Jasper started. She watched as Lapis slowly let her eyes fall onto Jasper. Her eyes narrowed into a glare before she made her comment.

"And you would be right," The blue gem attempted to go back to the book she was reading.

"But I want you to know, I think you did good," Jasper said. She gave a weak grin, but it all faded when Lapis let out a large sigh and slammed her book closed with force.

"You were right. I was terrified, Jasper," Lapis said, not even bothering to look at the orange warrior, " I was shaking. I thought I might collapse in the middle of the fight, and why? Cause I saw some defective Pearl who kept me in the mirror? She never even did anything to me! Yet, every time I see her face, I feel like she is going to put me back in there,"

"But she's not,"

"You don't think I know that!" Lapis said, her voice breaking, "I'm still weak and scared, and it's not even for a good reason."

"Lapis you're not weak," Jasper said as she watched Lapis stare down at her closed book, looking at it as if it would give her answers.

"Do you really believe that?" Lapis asked, now turning her head to stare into the golden eyes that stood in her doorway, "Cause I can name countless times you talked about how fear was weak. I can tell you about how you believed it was better to be shattered than retreat in battle. Yet, you don't think I'm weak. Why am I the exception?"

Jasper was about to explain to Lapis, but she couldn't. Her mind was coming blank as to why she had a different opinion about Lazuli. When Lapis saw that Jasper had no answer she cut in, "Don't you have training with Steven?"

Jasper was silent for a moment, she debated pushing the subject but decided against it. She could tell that the recent fight was putting salt in all of Lapis' wounds. She closed the door as she left the watery gems room and made her way to the training room.

She made her way through the kitchen, where Peridot seemed to be trying to upgrade the fridge. She didn't pay her any mind until the green gem made a comment to her.

"She didn't want to see you, huh?"

Jasper stopped, "I think she just wants to be alone right now,"

"Or she just wants to be away from you," Peridot said as she grabbed a wrench from the pile of gizmos beside her, "You really thought she would want to talk to you?"

"I thought it was worth a shot," Jasper could see the shake of Peridots head. The green gem didn't usually comment on Jasper's behaviors, but this time was hard. The bulky gem was just so oblivious to what she did wrong, and Peridot knew that Quartz were made to be muscle, but she thought Jasper would have, at least, a few brain cells. The smaller gem gave a grunt as she twisted a bolt before responding to Jasper.

"You really are blind," She said before letting out another grunt of frustration at part of the fridge's mechanics, "You don't see how your words affect her. Heck, I doubt you see how your words affect me." She said that last part as if she was talking to herself now.

"Whats that's supposed to mean?" Jasper felt her brain get cloudy. She didn't understand how she was in the wrong here, and she didn't know Peridot cared about what she said.

"It means you're all brawn, no brain," Peridot said without her usual snarky tone, which almost made the comment hurt more, "Which isn't your fault, you were just made that way." 

Jasper stayed silent, trying to think of a way to respond to Peridot, but her mind was just foggy now. She just grunted and continued her walk to the training room. She tried to sort through the thoughts and emotions that were stewing in her mind. She really needed to just go punch it out, but she knew that she couldn't do that right now. She walked through the door to the training room and almost didn't notice Steven waiting there for her.

"Hey, Jasper," Steven said, voice as bubbly as ever. Jasper almost wanted to ask how Steven could be so happy when her mind was a big puddle of confusing thoughts.

Jasper wanted more than anything to get rid of her thoughts. To uncloud her brain and get her focus back on track. She so desperately wanted to get rid of her emotions, that she was willing to do just about anything. This line of thinking gave her a very malformed idea. One that would lead to a series of very bad events. 

"Steven, we are going to try something different," Jasper said.

"Are we going to try karate!" He had asked Jasper to train him months ago, but to his dismay, Jasper didn't know how to do anything even remotely similar to the fighting style. 

"No, but I am going to teach you a new technique," Jasper gave him a smirk, "We are going to channel your anger,"

Steven's excitement faded from his face, "How is channeling my anger going to help me?"

"It helps you focus in battle, also can make your strikes harder," Jasper said as she made her way in front of Steven. She opened her arms to allow him to strike her chest, "Go ahead. Think of something you're mad about and then hit me,"

Steven wearily closed his eyes and tried to focus on something he was angry about. He scrunched up his face as he searched his mind for angry thoughts, but he was coming up empty. He gave Jasper a punch anyway, hoping she wouldn't notice.

Jasper looked down at Steven, face riddled with disappointment, "What was that?"

Steven looked away to avoid Jasper's disappointment, "I guess I just don't have anything to be angry about?"

Jasper scoffed at the notion, "You can't think of anything?"

"Nothing,"

It probably should have been this moment or the many moments before this, that Jasper should have realized Steven was not an angry person. She shouldn't try to make him something he is not, she shouldn't try to poke a sleeping bear, but Jasper continued anyway.

"What about how Homeworld has been in turmoil because of the Crystal Gems?" Jasper's words wrapped around Steven's ears like weeds, infectious, and dangerous to the other thoughts in his mind. 

"I can't get angry about that, I just-" Steven was cut off by Jasper, who didn't even let Steven finish his reasoning before going onto her next point. 

"Did you think about how Yellow Diamond hasn't let Blue Diamond or White Diamond know you exist?" Jasper's voice had a certain nature to it. She stated everything with such a certainty like she knew Steven's feelings better than he did. 

"Okay, yes I am a bit annoyed by that-" Jasper cut him off again.

"What about the fact that you never get to meet father?" Jasper's voice was getting louder, and the weeds were growing quickly in Steven's mind.

"Of course, I want to meet my father, but I can't-" The weeds were wrapping around his throat now, turning his words bitter like poison. 

"Did you think how the Crystal Gems stuck Lapis in a mirror for thousands of years? Watched her suffer! Used her as a tool!" Jasper was screaming now. The weeds had now taken over Steven's mind as he screamed back.

"YES! AND I HATE THEM!" Steven screamed. He began to glow like a neon sign, and his skin shifted into a bright shade of pink. He summoned his shield and began to charge at Jasper.

"Yes! Channel your anger!" Jasper said before being thrown across the room by Steven. Her back hit the wall with an echoing thud. The wall behind her cracked at the force of the impact. Jasper was shocked to look up at Steven, with a furious look that had morphed onto his face.

It all faded when he saw what he did to Jasper. His neon pink skin slowly died down, and he put his shield away as he ran to check on his mentor, "Jasper, I am so sorry. I can't believe I did that. It won't happen again."

"Don't be sorry," Jasper said as she got up.

"What?" Steven was confused. He ran his fingers through his curly hair as he tried to wrap his mind around how he did that. He didn't know if he could trust himself after what happened.

"That was amazing. We have to figure out how to do it again."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The alternate title to this chapter could be "Jasper not realizing her actions have consequences"  
> Also, I can't tell you what's coming up but man its so satisfying as an author to see all your plot points coming together.


End file.
